Tommy Tiernan - Out of the Whirlwind

Tommy Tiernan - Out of the Whirlwind
Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Hamer Hall, Melbourne. Sunday 17 April, 2016.

Until recently Tiernan held the world record for the longest solo stand up comedy show and his stamina on stage shows no sign of abating. Tiernan’s performance is like a high-octane adrenalin rush. Also known for his tendency to court controversy, his material has a no holds barred approach, touching on topics ranging form sex to global politics. Tiernan’s humour is designed to offend but this is clearly a style rather than a reflection of his worldview.

There is no topic, however, that doesn’t teeter on the edge of disaster and his stories are often as shocking as they are funny. They include his bizarre experiences of Australian landscape and culture with an incredible ability to switch between a variety of accents at an extremely rapid pace. The effect is hysterical. His enormous popularity with the expat Irish community allows him to be completely at home on stage, despite being on foreign soil and performing in incongruous venues.

Tiernan seems to source his material from the exasperation he feels when confronted with daily, grinding social pressures. The crudeness of his language, the harshness of some of his observations as well as his brutal honesty amounts to an abrasive style, but not without an alluring and endearing quality. His astute observations are greatly appreciated and his humour relies on the understanding that he is sincere when he says, “I was only joking."

Patricia Di Risio

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