Graham Norton: "There is something very funny about watching people trying not to laugh and watching them nearly break. It is a delicious thing."

This month sees a Galacticos-like assembly of Irish comics take part in Prime Video’s new series, Last One Laughing Ireland. With superstar presenter Graham Norton at the helm, the premise is simple: each of the contestants does their utmost to make the other participants laugh, whilst remaining resolutely stony-faced themselves. The last one to hold out from laughing takes the plaudits and a nice prize of €50,000 for a charity of their choice.

A clue to how wild proceedings get is that in minute one, David McSavage – redefining the term “going for it” – starts eating cereal out of his pocket. Amongst the other major league talents on show, meanwhile, are Aisling Bea, Paul Tylak, Tony Cantwell and more. After a tour of the show’s studio in Clondalkin – where the whole series is scheduled to be a shot over the course of one day – Hot Press arrives back a few days later for a debrief with some of the participants.

Graham Norton.

First up is Norton – what was his initial reaction when he heard the pitch for the show?

“When you hear the aim of the show is for people not to laugh,” he responds, “then you think,’How will that be funny? It is just people in silence!’ But it turns out it is really funny, and also, there is a lot more laughing in it than you think there is going to be! There are breaks in between, with the yellow card or the red card, and hilarity ensues, but then we all take it very seriously again.

“Also, there is something very funny about watching people trying not to laugh and watching them nearly break. It is a delicious thing.”

What is it about Irish humour that makes it so internationally recognised?

“What struck me about it was the range of it,” says Graham. “That there was so much... there was silliness, there was quite cerebral things, there was dark stuff. It covers everything, it is kind of amazing how broad Irish comedy is. It kind of encompasses everything, and it all still feels genuinely Irish. I think this show will play well internationally, but what I loved about it is how uniquely Irish it was.
“What a deep dive into Ireland it was. So as people abroad will be laughing, they’ll also be scratching their heads asking, ‘What the hell is that about?!’”

Which other Irish comedians would you like to see compete?

“The good thing is, if we go again, everyone can think of lots of names that could go in,” notes Graham. “Tommy Tiernan, Ed Byrne, Ardal O’Hanlon, none of them have been in there yet. If any of those three go in, they would do very well.”

Aisling Bea.

Aisling Bea, meanwhile, picks on one particular difference between the Irish edition of LOL and its international counterparts.

“I’d watched the Swedish one and the Canadian one,” she says. “I think the Canadian one is quite similar, in that Canadian people are also very dry, and it had a lot of stand-ups who sort of knew each other. I think on this one, we all knew each other way more. I don’t think there was anyone who didn’t know anyone.

“Everyone knew at least two people and everyone had worked together in some kind of capacity, and if we hadn’t, we were a step away from doing it. That was nice, because it was that much more immediate and very little getting-to-know-you, which is brilliant.”

As for the possibility this might be one of the most watched shows ever to come out of Ireland, Aisling notes there are variables to consider.

“It’s hard to say, because that would involve too many Irish people accepting compliments and being confident about themselves!” she chuckles. “I hope people really enjoy it. I think one thing this one has; I was quite surprised by the production in general and how specifically Irish it is.

“There is a level of things you get in it if you are Irish and grew up here, and then there’s levels other people will get, but they won’t get that bonus round. I think with this, everyone around the world will enjoy it, but there’s so many layers just for Irish people.

“In fact, I think Irish people are going to lose their minds over this, to be honest.Production threw some big surprises at us that we just lost our minds over. And I couldn’t believe they managed to pull it off, and kept it a secret, which is so hard in Ireland, because everyone knows where the bodies are buried here!”

Next up is veteran stand-up Jason Byrne, of whom we enquire if the experience was as draining as it seemed.

“It was brilliantly draining – that’s your pull quote sorted!” he laughs. “You’re not allowed laugh and you can’t smile. When someone was caught out, there was a pause. Graham came in and went, ‘You did such and such, I’ll give you a yellow card’, or whatever it was.

“That’s when we were able to laugh, but it was like holding your breath in between every fucking bit. Not only that, you now have to work out how to make somebody laugh, who’s just not laughing. It was bit like the Serengeti then, trying to hunt out the weak. At one point, I watched Tony Cantwell and seen his left arm was limping.

“It’s like when a lion spots a vulnerable gazelle. The herd had gone on, and he had backed off to have a bit of water in a bush. I went, ‘I’m gonna try kill him.’ You know at the end of fights in Mortal Kombat when it goes, ‘Finish him!’? There were moments like that. But it didn’t really work out – I really thought I had a couple of people on the ropes.”

In terms of strategies for not laughing, Byrne had a few on standby.

“Pinching yourself,” he acknowledges. “It’s like being at the back of Mass, it’s tough. But also, the goalposts would change, cos the longer you’re in there, you go into a different mode. You’re kind of giddy and fucking losing it. It felt like doing a season of Big Brother, with the starting and stopping.

“I knew Tony was going to be pulling mad shit out of his head. Aisling Bea was going to be the total pro, she would never let up. Years ago, when I used props during gigs, I used to go to charity shops. I’d spend loads of time laughing at stuff and bringing things home. So, this was like a bigger version of that. I probably have a new Edinburgh show on the back of it!”

It turns out out that some participants when to extraordinary lengths to compete, with McSavage unsurprisingly at the top of the list.
“He got hypnotised,” notes Jason. “It was 160 quid, the fucking eejit! We were going, ‘You fucking cheat!’ It wasn’t working, his mouth was going sideways all day. I just thought he was having a breakdown!”

As previously noted, the Irish series of Last One Laughing is merely the latest iteration of a format that’s proven internationally popular. No doubt the Irish edition displays all the charm and playful warmth for which the country is renowned.

“We’re fucking horrendous,” counters Jason. “It’ll probably be the same when they do the British one. The Swedes would have all cried if they were in there with us. They would have asked to leave! The same with the Australians, cos they’re all so nice. The Canadians I quite enjoyed. But with the Irish, some stuff happened where Graham rang into the room and stopped various things.

“At one stage he said, ‘Could we have less of that and more chat about the Famine?!’ That’s how dark it got. We were like, ‘Oh, we’re at that fucking baseline!’ In another interview for the socials, they were asking us why Ireland is funny, and nearly all of us went to to dark side for all that. We were going, ‘Because of misery, invasion and plagues.’ The poor woman who did it was American, and she was just staring at us going, ‘Where am I?!’”

Martin Angolo.

After a short break, Hot Press next meets two more participants, Martin Angolo and Deirdre O’Kane. Like Jason, Deirdre acknowledges it was a tiring if satisfying experience.

“It was exhausting!” she says. “I knew it would be a mad experience, different and unusual, but nothing could have prepared me. It’s like when you get delirious – you’re like an over-tired, over-sugared child, who’s just desperate.”

“It was like Big Brother without the sexual tension,” suggests Martin.

“Speak for yourself!” retorts Deirdre. “I was having a great time.”As the comedians tried to make each other laugh, Angolo remained resolutely stoic, with O’Kane describing him as, “Mr. Cool, Calm and Collected. He was unbreakable.”

“A little bit,” says Martin. “I’m a natural laugher in real life, but I had to be a bit of prick in there. Normal human interaction didn’t really work. I hadn’t met Aisling Bea before, and I was so sour to her. I wanted to be smiley, and she’s so nice. And I hadn’t met Amy either.”

Was there someone you particularly worried about breaking you?

“Sometimes I thought I was going to go just by catching someone else’s eye,” says Deirdre. “Amy was bad for me, and Catherine Bohart – I couldn’t be looking at Catherine, now. You would catch somebody’s eye, and you would know you both found the same thing very funny. Ordinarily, you’d be going, ‘Isn’t this hilarious?’ But you had to hold it back. With Jason as well, it was very difficult.”

“When I walked in, you could see Jason looking at tables and picking things up,” says Martin. “I was like, ‘He’s going to do something crazy.’ And he did!’”

“He’s built for this show,” notes Deirdre. “He’s just prop mad, he loves it – he’s like a child in a sweet shop.”

Deirdre O'Kaner

Did you take much persuading to do the show?

“I took a little bit to persuade myself,” considers O’Kane. “I’m not that kind of silly, madcap comic, I’m much more into wit and wordplay. Jason, for example, is much more of a visual performer. But I watched the Canadian and Australian versions, and it was really by the end of the Canadian one that I was convinced. It properly made me laugh.”

“I like being filmed so much I didn’t take any convincing,” adds Martin. “They didn’t even explain the concept!”

Any unusual moments that stayed with you?

“I had a moment where somebody came in as a guest, and I thought it was Emma Doran dressed up, doing a bit,” reflects Deirdre. “I thought, fair play to her, she’s dressed up and giving it socks. Then I heard an accent and thought, ‘That sounds like somebody else.’ I turned around and saw Emma standing in her clothes, and I realised, ‘That is fucking not Emma Doran, the clown!’ So that was a moment.

“Well, without giving anything away,” adds Angolo, “I saw a lot more of Tony Cantwell’s body than I thought I would. And Jason’s! It was tough.”

Had either of you done anything remotely similar before, even in terms of improv?

“I said the improvers would be the ones to watch,” says Deirdre. “I said if there are improvers in here, they’ll win it, because they are dangerous. I’m rubbish at it, spectacularly bad. Paul Tylak is an improviser and he was hard to break. The answer to that is no. I’ve done a bit of reality telly, and my god, nothing comes close to this.”

“The problem with the improv is that you have to be a team player,” muses Martin. “‘Yes and…’ is the rule. I’m more a of a ‘No but…’ kind of guy! People are saying, ‘We’re in a dentist’s office’, and I’m going, ‘But we’re not!’ I’m interrupting the flow.”

Asked for final thoughts on the show, Martin highlights its unique format.

“I suppose this is the first comedy show where it’s all on the comedians,” he says. “In television, you don’t usually get as much freedom to just to do anything. There’s such a wide scope.”

People are saying it’s going to be darker than the other international versions.

“Well,” says Martin, “it depends on how much David McSavage they keep in!”

• Last One Laughing Ireland is streaming now on Prime Video.