Dr Cosmos
Apple TV · 2021 · 65 min
A sober but disheveled sermon on the indignities of aging.
Dylan Moran walks on stage clutching a mug of tea instead of his usual glass of red wine, but the newly sober lifestyle has not softened his misanthropic edge. He remains a master of shambolic grumbling, pacing the stage with a disheveled energy that feels both chaotic and carefully timed. Rather than delivering a tight hour of setup-punchline observations, he offers a loose series of philosophical rants about middle age, modern existential dread, and the general absurdity of living.
Filmed in Brisbane, Australia, in 2019 and released digitally in 2021, the show operates as a time capsule from the immediate pre-pandemic era. Because of this timing, Moran completely avoids any mention of global lockdowns, choosing instead to focus on the timeless indignities of aging. He compares growing up in 1970s Ireland to “Chernobyl with priests,” rails against trendy, single-word restaurant names like Fork or Stab, and compares the personality of domestic cats to Alan Rickman. When addressing politics, he sidesteps prolonged commentary on Donald Trump, likening the former president to a smelly rubbish bin that everyone already knows is smelly.
The performance captures a veteran comic transitioning into his late forties, struggling with the indifference of his teenage children and the excruciating etiquette of suburban dinner parties. While some fans might miss the wine-soaked, dreamlike tangents of his earlier tours, his dry, literary perspective on the human condition remains intact.
The set list
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All cats resemble actor Alan Rickman.
Comedic observation and impression comparing feline demeanor to Alan Rickman and Hans Gruber.
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Growing up in 1970s Ireland.
Characterised his Catholic upbringing in Ireland as 'Chernobyl with priests' where life was so dull that rain was exciting compared to today's tech-saturated youth.
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Political figures Mike Pence and Donald Trump.
Described Mike Pence as having a smile from the back of the freezer and looking like a frosted mortician, while noting his reluctance yet inability to resist taking shots at Trump.
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Mortality and time as a Parisian waiter.
Philosophical, bleak analogy comparing time to a Parisian waiter who leaves you feeling stupid and lonely before taking everything away, as well as dreading funerals because the dead person can't help with digging.
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Gender differences and women as the original internet.
Contrasted men and women by asserting that women know things and communicate them, serving as the original blueprint for the web.
How it plays
- Tone
- Surreal, darkly existential, poetic, and self-deprecating yet belligerently charming and upbeat.
- On stage
- Described as the 'Oscar Wilde of comedy'; an elegantly dishevelled, deadpan, and latterly teetotal misanthrope combining curmudgeonliness with philosophical insight and crackpot lyricism.
- Pace
- Shambolic, digression-ridden, and deft; shifting topics on a whim in a free-flowing waterfall of ideas.
- About
- Ageing and mortality, Relationships and gender differences, Modern technology and the internet vs. pre-internet youth, Bleak 1970s Irish childhood and religion, Politics, Cats
What the critics said
Highly acclaimed by reviewers who praised Moran's peak form, evocative turns of phrase, and ability to remain uniquely hilarious and sharp after quitting alcohol.
In the room: Rapt and uproarious, with reviewers noting audiences reduced to wheezing with laughter.
Backstory
Filmed in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently released via global livestream on DICE in May 2021 during pandemic restrictions. Marked Moran's transition to sobriety and contemplation of ageing.
Details
- Released
- Runtime
- 65 min
- Where
- Apple TV
- Director
- Martin Coombes
- Topics
- Before
- Off the Hook (2015)
More from Dylan Moran
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Off the Hook
Universal Pictures
-
Monster
BBC
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