My Comedy Hero: Josephine Lacey on Dave Allen
The Irish comedian picks her fellow countryman and storytelling legend
Being born in the 60s and growing up in the 70s and 80s, I had a lot of classic comedy heroes like Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, Bill Hicks, Billy Connolly, Sid James, Warren Mitchell and more. Being asked to choose one comedy hero, I had two on the table: Dave Allen and Tommy Tiernan. Both Irish and both storytellers. The fact that I am half Irish and a storyteller doesn’t have anything to do with it, I swear!
I picked Dave Allen (sorry Tommy) as I never missed an episode of The Dave Allen Show and Dave Allen At Large, and I could watch them all again today. I would get excited as soon as the theme tune would start. Most of the time he would be seated on a high stool with a drink and a cigarette, and I was fascinated by his half finger and all the different stories he told on how he lost it. I loved his relaxed style of storytelling and black humour; he was casual, sincere and funny with taboo subjects at the time, like politics, the Catholic Church and death, which got him banned from Irish television back in the day.
Although seated, his storytelling had so much expression. What I really looked forward to were his ghostly stories, usually at the end of an episode. The lights would dim and he would begin a spooky tale, which would normally end with an anticlimactic or humorous punchline instead of the expected jump scare. I still remember his end of show catchphrase: ‘Goodnight, thank you, and may your god go with you.’
Josephine Lacey: Autism Mama, Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, Friday 26 June; main picture: Jiksaw.