COMEDY NIGHT: Why you need to see… Rob Mulholland

Who: Rob Mulholland Where: Frog and Bucket Comedy Club Why: "Yeah I don't think any of us expected that p**** joke to be about colonialism, but there we are. I'm a highbrow scumbag!" So says Rob Mulholland to roars of laughter after comparing over-confident Californian dirty talk ("Yeah! Go on! Claim that p****!") to the Yorkshire equivalent ("Eee! 'ammer it right in, ya dirty get!") Mulholland's language and content may be a tad startling to some, but don't be fooled into assuming that he's some one-dimensional shock-comic looking to offend for notoriety's sake. His material is clever, layered and acutely observed. Even if he is at pains to stress "I don't really know anything. I'm just a bit of an idiot really..." Of course Mulholland is nothing like the know-nowt div he paints himself as. But it's massively refreshing to witness a comedian repeatedly play down just how sharp and astute he can be, rather than desperately try to artificially inseminate material with faux intellectualism and forced pathos. Love him or loathe him, he's no try-hard. The great thing about Mulholland is he is completely without pretension. In fact he'd love for you to believe that he's a "moron" and a bit of a twat, but neither is remotely true. Even the more gross-out elements are expertly constructed and sumptuous in their eloquent debauchery. The Leeds comic boasts a superbly seedy turn of phrase. This comes into its own when discussing the false equivalence of orgasm equality. Mulholland argues that women have the edge on quality, if not quantity. His description of the female climax as "shaking like a retired boxer" is wincingly good, whilst the male version being "a dull thud of relief from regret" is another pearler. He'd probably be loathed to admit it, but Mulholland's moral compass is spot on too. He mocks claims that fat-shaming is the 'new racism', not by belittling the former ("Fat-shamers are the real dickheads") but by lambasting the daft comparison. "Fucking no! For a start I think racism is still pretty popular! If anything it's making a comeback!" Mulholland's radar of derision is laser-guided. "As with any ideology, the main message gets lost as people start tagging on new fringe ideas that are bullshit - even if the main message is good," he opines with penetrating accuracy. It's a throwaway remark that nails so much about modern intellectual blather. Not bad for a scumbag.

---

We saw Rob Mulholland at the Frog and Bucket Comedy Club in Manchester. You can find out more about his future dates here. He was appearing as part of a Forever Manchester comedy night, raising money to fund and support community activity across Greater Manchester.