During Lockdown: Allie O’Rourke, stand-up comedian and promoter

Explicit content warning

03/29/20 • 32 min

Allie O’Rourke - stand-up comedian and comedy promoter - is one of Dublin’s hardest-working comedians, playing over 300 gigs in 18 months all over the country, refining her comedic skillset to reach and entertain everyone who sees her.

I wanted to catch up with Allie see how she was getting on during lockdown, so we Skyped for Episode 11 on 21st March 2020. Allie’s still cranking out her community-led creativity even in the grip of a pandemic, with nightly shows on the Hysteria Ireland Comedy Network on Facebook.

I also spoke with Allie for Episode 10 of Operation: Project, 16th February 2020, so if you want to hear how optimistic for the future we were and what our plans were then, do have a listen to Episode 10.

So much has changed since - there is a whole a new set of challenges for the creative person to overcome, but just because we can’t be in the same room as our collaborators, we can still support each other and entertain ourselves, and an audience, together.

Allie’s Token Straight comedy club on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tokenstraight/

The Hysteria Comedy Network on Facebook, keeping Dublin comedy weird at 8pm nightly: https://www.facebook.com/hysteriaireland/

Connect with Aliie on Twitter allie_orourke + on Instagram @allie.orourke

Connect with Caroline on Twitter carolinezoids + on Instagram @caroline_swords_dublin

Allie’s Token Straight comedy club on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tokenstraight/

The Hysteria Comedy Network on Facebook, keeping Dublin comedy weird at 8pm nightly: https://www.facebook.com/hysteriaireland/

Connect with Aliie on Twitter allie_orourke + on Instagram @allie.orourke

Connect with Caroline on Twitter carolinezoids + on Instagram @caroline_swords_dublin

Previous Episode

Liam Hourican, actor

Liam Hourican - actor, impressionist, comedian - lives in London, and has been a constant comedic presence on TV and stage since the mid-00’s, with roles in The Savage Eye (RTE), The IT Crowd (Channel 4) and Tracey Ullman's Show (BBC) to name just a few. Caroline marvels at his ability to multi-task as he moves along his commercial and passion projects, taking on the additional jobs of playwright, screenwriter and producer as needed.

They talk about the importance of physical and mental relaxation for performance, who makes a the ideal subject for an impressionist, and how making things looks easy is really, really, hard.

"Wooha Frank Barrington - Hellraiser" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o04i2kRjb8g

"Roy Keane Goodfellas" on The Savage Eye: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU4_5zV2pco

“Dick”, a comedy short produced by Caroline, starring Liam, : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyYHjPLeh2s

"Retro Vision: The Terrible Movie Show" monthly comedy night, watch episodes here: https://www.facebook.com/RetroVisionComedy/

Connect with Liam on Instagram: @liamhourican

Connect with Caroline on Instagram: @caroline_swords_dublin and Twitter: carolinezoids

Next Episode

Alan McMonagle, writer

Alan McMonagle is an award-winning Galway-based writer, with loads of short stories, radio plays and a couple of novels to his name. His latest novel, Laura Cassidy's Walk Of Fame, was published by Picador in March 2020 - an unfortunate time for marketing a new work, it being the outset of a global pandemic and all. Caroline read it over one weekend when she was ill with COVID-19, and protagonist Laura's relatable, hilarious delusions and fresh, funny voice provided a welcome distraction at that difficult time.

They talk about the entirely of the novel-writing process: from initial stirrings to cranking it out, through the editing and publishing stages and beyond, as well as the never-ending benefits of making genuine relationships with other artists, as demonstrated by Alan’s valuable, lifelong correspondence with Pat McCabe. He clues Caroline in on his big secret to finishing a novel - listen to the episode to find out what it is!

Find out all about Alan and his work on his website https://www.alanmcmonagle.com

Get Laura Cassidy's Walk Of Fame on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laura-Cassidys-Walk-Fame-McMonagle/dp/1509829881/

Laura reviewed in The Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/laura-cassidy-s-walk-of-fame-a-boulevard-of-broken-dreams-1.4189442

Connect with Alan on Twitter: mcmonaglewriter

Connect with Caroline on Twitter: carolinezoids + on Instagram @caroline_swords_dublin