Impersonation once again

There has been a dearth of decent political comedy on Irish television in recent times, but if any creative team can rectify that situation, it’s ex-Scrap Saturday writer Gerry Stembridge and Apres Match member Risteard Cooper.

Stembridge and Cooper have collaborated together on The State Of Us, a series of spoof documentaries which will follow a day in the life of a number of leading political figures, among them Michael McDowell, Martin Cullen and Pat Rabbitte.
Each show will end with the central character being interviewed by Pat Kenny, and plenty of other media and political types are targeted along the way. The programme is certainly a timely addition to the RTÉ schedules ahead of the upcoming general election, with the respective comedic pedigrees of Stembridge and Cooper meaning it stands a considerably better chance of success than most homegrown satire.
“I first got the idea to do something with Gerry about three or four years ago,” explains Risteard. “Whenever we met we had a good laugh, and usually when that happens, it’s a good sign. So we got together, threw a few ideas around and came up with this. It started off as one thing and ended up as another, but we’ve stuck pretty much to the original idea, which is very satisfying.
“The initial premise was that we would follow a day in the life of a leading light in celebrity Ireland, but with the general election coming up, we’re now coming at it from more of a political angle. It’s a kind of mockumentary format, I suppose. The main character in the first episode is Michael McDowell, and a camera crew that he’s aware of follows him during his day. The central character each week has a reason to go into the RTÉ radio centre, and that’s the hub of the comedy in the series.”
In a remarkable display of Peter Sellers-like versatility, Risteard will play every single character in the show.
“It was sort of a natural progression to be honest,” he remarks. “There are a number of people in the Irish media world that I’ve wanted to target for some time, and this was the perfect vehicle to do it. Each episode ends with the main character, whether it be McDowell or Martin Cullen or whomever, being interviewed by Pat Kenny.
“But I play everybody in the interim, and there about three or four central RTÉ characters. Some are well known, some are not, and some are original creations. There’s one character called Tom who links each episode, and he’s Pat Kenny’s PA. He’s the liaison between Pat, the interviewees and the other RTÉ heads. Overall, playing the different characters was great fun to do, although from a continuity point of view it could be a nightmare at times.”
The advance publicity for The State Of Us suggests that the show “focuses on the clash between politicians and the media.” Did Risteard come to any conclusions about the nature of that relationship?
“In some cases there’s a cosiness that goes on,” he replies. “You do find that certain personalities are just as political as the people they’re interviewing, and I don’t think that’s a healthy thing. So there is a clash there, but there are also a lot of similarities between, for example, Pat Kenny and a couple of politicians. There are parallels to be drawn in the way they go about their jobs, and in their personalities, for want of a better term (laughs).”
The thesis put forward in Armando Iannucci’s outstanding comedy The Thick Of It is that the primary concern of politicians and spin doctors these days is getting a particular message across in the media, rather than constantly clashing with civil servants, as was the case in Yes Minister.
“I didn’t actually see The Thick Of It, but it certainly sounds like there are parallels,” says Risteard. “There’s no question about it, the media is a massive influence on people. Particularly with certain TV and radio personalities, they become establishment figures and hugely influential, possibly more influential than any politician.”
As it happens, our interview takes place the day after Man Utd’s 7-1 demolition of Roma in the Champions League. Did Risteard see the game?
“I saw most of it, I’m actually on a break at the moment,” he responds. “I don’t know if you can hear it, but my voice is fast disappearing because of the strain of the past four weeks. But yeah, I did see it, it was incredible.”
I suggest that Apres Match would have got great mileage out of the post-match analysis, which saw Giles, Brady and Dunphy dumbfounded at the emphatic nature of Man Utd’s victory.
“I couldn’t really hear the panel because I was in a pub,” says Risteard. “But I did catch a bit of the half-time analysis, and Gilesy’s reaction. (Does very funny Giles impression) ‘I’ve never seen Man Utd play this way, it’s absolutely unbelievable Bill. In other words, nobody could have predicted that this would happen.’ I figured from that that they must have been really backtracking.”
Will Apres Match make a return to our screens?
“I certainly hope so,” says Risteard. “I suppose the way it’s gone in the past while is that we’ve just got together for the big tournaments and a few live shows. To be honest, it’s hard to sustain it over a long amount of time. We’re all on for doing major events, but the idea of sticking together like a band, for example, is not an option. We’re too old for it!”
The State Of Us starts on RTE 1 on Sunday April 22, at 9.30 pm.