By Gillian Middleton.
Maeve Higgins is charm personified. From the moment she wryly introduces herself to her exit the audience are beaming like school girls on a first date. Maeve is probably best known for her part in ‘Naked Camera’ where she played a woman desperate to find love. She then got her own series called ‘Fancy Vittles’ in which her sister cooked while Maeve mused to camera.
(During the week I mentioned to a couple of my friends that I was going to see Maeve and the immediate response was: “Tell her I said hello.” My housemate has a framed photo which is given pride of place in our sitting room. Of course, and rather creepily, he doesn’t actually know Maeve but it is a good example of how endearing her persona is.)
Whelan’s is quite an odd choice for a comedy gig as they rarely have seated events. It felt somewhat like being squashed into someone’s living room and many were left standing. Maeve jokes about the trajectory of her career being exemplified by the fact that she has gone from playing Vicar St. to Whelan’s in the space of a year.
Reference is also made to her attempt to get ‘Fancy Vittles’ renewed and what she describes as an ‘unsuccessful’ Late Late appearance. Her hilarious impression of Philomena Lynott is one of the highlights. Although the first series was very much Maeve finding her feet in the world of television, by the end it had the hilarity to match the quirk. It’s a pity it didn’t get a second run as it was certainly of more comedic value than the bland teenage boys’ club that is ‘The Republic of Telly.’
The audience’s enjoyment grows from chuckles in the beginning toward full-blown belly laughs as it nears the end. The climax of the evening is the story of her participation in a television show where celebrities were challenged to see through the eyes of people with disabilities. It is one of those stories that’ll have you still laughing to yourself days later.
Her style of comedy is self-deprecating wit and awkward charm. It can seem like her accent is doing half of the work because such is the easy nature of her comedic style. However, the old cliché of those with the most talent making their work seem effortless certainly rings true here. Don’t be fooled by the lilting twang and shuffling twee persona, here is a comedienne with brilliant skills of observation and delivery. I now completely understand why my housemate has given her pride of place on the mantelpiece.
