Funny Talk: Lisa Casey

Casey!

aving won the Corrupt Comedy Competition at 2016’s Hardy Har Comedy Festival, very funny girl Lisa Casey has, unsurprisingly, become something of a regular at the Harbour Bar’s monthly comedy night.

Sharing that stage with The Savage Eye‘s Willa White (he of the scary false dentures), Casey has been busy honing her stand-up skills over the last few months, supporting the likes of Joe Rooney and Maeve Higgins.

Bray’s homecoming queen will no doubt have plenty of friends whooping and cheering her on for her professional debut at Wicklow’s premier comedy club. Which just happens to be free, money fans.

Lisa took time out to reveal to GG the 5 comedians who have inspired her to take this ridiculously frivolous and humongously low-paying career path.

From the original Navan Man, Tommy Tiernan, to the stoned turtle that is Steven Wright, here are Lisa’s reasons to be cheerful…

Tommy Tiernan
Probably a favourite for most Irish comedians, I grew up watching Tommy – pure genius with a bit of mental craziness, he just has it. I don’t know what IT is, but he has IT! I can watch his shows over and over, and still laugh as hard as the first time.

Russell Brand
I love Russell’s stand up but I’m most fond of his TV show Ponderland, and he is amazing on panel shows – but, most recently, I find myself watching his YouTube programme The Trews religiously.  His book Revolution is a must read.  I’m a bit of a fangirl I’ll admit; I did a little dance when he tweeted me a few months ago.  I find myself debating other comedians  about him after gigs, and I’ve turned a few into Russell fangirls and fanboys I’m proud to say.

Jason Byrne
I used to sit in my car with my best friend years ago and watch Jason Byrne DVDs on her little tiny DVD player. Bit weird, looking back, but we would never tire of watching him. I love his audience interactions and his props. Sometimes he does these mental games with the audience that don’t even make sense but I find those ones the funniest!  Most recently I enjoyed his tv3 show, Snaptastic.

Chris Rock
Chris Rock was one of the first comedians I watched growing up. I used to drive around with my friends and play Never Scared over and over instead of listening to music – we could almost quote the whole show word for word it was so good.  He has this amazing rhythmic thing that he does where he makes a joke stick in your head like a catchy song; it’s almost like he’s preaching. Just amazing.

Steven Wright
My favourite type of comedy is surreal, so I couldn’t leave out the king of surreal comedy! I take a lot of inspiration from Steven Wright; he does all one-liners and is an absolute genius “Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.”