The Siren 23.03.10 David Andrews is the brother of Fianna Fáil TD Barry Andrews, his father David was also an Irish politician and his cousin Ryan Tubridy, hosts The Late Late Show. And what of David Andrews himself? He is an Irish comedian, acting under the pseudonym David McSavage. And this new name, like his act, couldn’t be less related to his political heritage. Mc Savage broke into the comedy scene performing on street corners, where his one man guitar act gained popularity. Controversially, his routine is mostly made up of a running commentary on passersby. McSavage’s style is haphazard and improvised with a witty penchant for impersonation. At the top of Grafton Street he sings, “Hey Mister taxi man, hey mister taxi man, you failed all your exams, that’s why you’re a taxi man.” When I ask him whether ripping it out of total strangers is a dangerous preoccupation, he sums it up. “Rule number one of comedy - never make fun of people who look like they want to kick the shit out of you for no reason.” Seemingly it works for him. His guitar accompaniment is not unlike an unrefined Stephen Lynch. Nothing new, nevertheless the man can pull a crowd. A cynic would say that he draws on the classic comedic pull factors, guaranteed to get a laugh but relies too heavily on crossing the line. This he does regularly. “It doesn’t require much talent to piss people off, that’s an easy thing to do being controversial, but the thing is to be controversial and funny. Usually when people are complaining about jokes being distasteful, it’s because they are also not funny, but if a joke is genuinely funny people tend not to complain.” “So the line is really, is it funny or not funny? If you can handle even very delicate material, or very delicate subjects, if you can take an angle on them that is funny or charming, I think you can get away with most things.” During one of his street acts at Edinburgh Fringe festival, the comedian was arrested for breaching the peace. The cause was the obscene nature of his material, drawing on male genitalia for inspiration. An offended bystander called the police but in typical McSavage fashion he was led away to the crowd chanting “penis”. As he pointed out himself, it was great publicity for his show. McSavages’ set is not confined to the street. He began his relationship with RTÉ doing a warm up act for “The Late, Late show” and was later asked on the show by then host Pat Kenny. His interview with Pat is worth a look. He makes a point of breaching interview protocol by making provocative personal comments and impersonating Kenny. “Pat Kenny is a lovely man, he’s a beautiful man, he’s heterosexual, he’s horny, he’s natural, hey Pat Kenny has a penis.” He finishes up by singing a song about having sex with a pigeon. Despite his preoccupation with male genitalia and his crude techniques, his act has gained momentum. This is indicated by his current involvement with RTÉ as the creator of a six programme comedy series called “The Savage Eye”, which aired in January 2010. Written by McSavage, the show is directed by Kieron J. Walsh (When
Arts
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A Tough Act to Swallow
David McSavage takes time out of insulting strangers to chat with Amy Walsh about being judgmental, his preoccupation with male genitalia the comedic gap in the market when it comes to the church
Brendan Met Trudy, RAW), and Damian O’Donnell (East is East, Inside I’m Dancing). Each show poses a question inspired by Irish society, such as “Why are the Irish so bad in bed?” The inhibited sex lives of the Irish are blamed on the climate, the media, the proliferation of porn and sex education. Invariably, British Rule and the Catholic Church feature as scapegoats in the satirical series. These answers present themselves like an anthropological documentary, drawing on skits by popular actors and comedians as well as vox pops from the general public. The shows’ parodies feature notorious impersonations of Irish celebrities and figure heads, notably, Mary Robinson, Bono and Des Bishop. As the “Savage Eye” is cast around Irish society, the result is a humorous take on Irish culture. McSavage maintains that it is all in the name of a good laugh, “I actually admire Mary Robinson....she’s somehow like a superhero.”
Highlights of the show include the cynical ranting of fictional character Mick “The Bull” Daly, “Publican of the year and family man”. ‘Ireland’s president for life’ offers humorous advice while a skit on the Irish Government introduces the ‘Minister for laughing inappropriately’, ‘Minister for breathlessness to convey sincerity’, ‘Minister for the use of three similar words’ and the ‘Minister for the awareness of problems.’ Other shows are centred on hot topics such as property, the Arts and alcohol. McSavage stars along with Declan Rooney, Aidan Bishop, Pat McDonnell and Gerard McSorley. The show very much reflects Irish peoples’ current contempt and frustration with the government and institutions. I ask McSavage what fuels his social portraits. “I think all the major institutions that everybody looked up to and held in great esteem, like the bankers, the government, the church, I mean the church is over....
it’s over. It’s so over it doesn’t even know it’s over, the Catholic Church is running on the fumes of over.” The provocative nature of McSavage’s material is evident throughout “The Savage Eye”, but unlike his street act, is evaluated by a national audience. It was received well, enjoying a respectable position in the top five most popular shows on RTÉ’s iPlayer. More telling perhaps is the fact that he is creating another series for RTÉ. McSavage is currently looking at ‘Why the Irish are such natural criminals’. He says “I’m going to be dealing with subjects like rape, obviously you’re not making fun of that but you’re making fun of the conditions in society that allow stuff like that to happen.” David McSavage’s comedy is an acquired taste. Frequently without limits, his material is often perceived as obscene and offensive. Despite this, projected onto a national stage, his popularity is evident. His witty perspective infiltrates and chal-
lenges Irish society. As the bankers, the government and the church are cast into the limelight McSavage has seen the gap in the market. “It’s open season for comedians and whatever you want to do, because nobody can complain about me or what I’m saying, I’m just holding up a mirror to what’s happening.” What is initially deemed as inappropriate is in fact, quite the opposite. This Irish comedian will continue to crack open and crack up at the failings of Irish society. Sometimes you just have to laugh. David McSavage is performing at Vicar Street on the 16th of April.