After 40 years of hilarity, Irish comedian Brendan Grace returns to Australia for a national tour this November.
Grace is best known for his comedic, schoolboy character, Murphy, in the 1995 movie ‘Moondance’ and for his appearance in ‘Father Ted’ in 1996 as Father Fintan Stack.
With a long career spread across comedy, music, acting and writing, Grace really has done it all – including entertaining Hollywood greats. “Somewhere around 1990 I met-up with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Liza Minelli when they were doing their world tour and they finished up in Dublin; they had a couple of nights free and I was drafted in by the promoter to entertain the entertainers and I was scared out of my wits!
“These guys had seen it all and it just so happened that I wowed them with my form of comedy. I did a drunk routine and they thought I was doing a parody of them,” Grace says.
Grace’s simple, yet sharp, comedy style has appealed to all generations throughout his career. “My form of comedy is very simple… But my humour is not without innuendo. I think innuendo is a great thing to do because it asks people to make their own mind-up without saying a word,” Grace says.
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When asked what has kept him going for so long, Grace responds with the clichéd, yet genuine, answer. “I just enjoy what I’m doing. Even when I was a schoolboy, which was many, many moons ago now, I was a bit of a funny kid in the classroom,” Grace says.
Grace started out as a musician in a band initially until one night when he was thrust on stage to placate an impatient audience as they waited for band members to arrive. “I was pushed-up on stage to tell jokes because in the band I was known for telling the odd joke and I went on stage and had to keep things going,” Grace says. “That started my appetite for making people laugh.”
Grace’s current show, ‘An Audience With His Grace’, will feature material from throughout his career including some old favourites and new material. “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been there. I know that the last time I was there there were so many Irish [people] living in various parts of Australia and the native Australians understood the Irish humour.”
Grace is well known for his post-show meet and greets with his audience, which have become part and parcel of each show. “Apart form doing the show I always wait around after the show is finished and I do a meet and greet with anyone who wants to say hello,” he says.
Grace is most eager to mingle with Australian fans in hope to also find new material; there’s no stopping him. “Sometimes if I get leisure time when I’m away I like to pick up a few local 'isms' as well; it’s good for the show.”
Brendan Grace Tour Dates
Wed 11 Nov - QPAC Concert Hall (Brisbane)Thu 12 Nov - Festival Theatre (Adelaide)
Fri 13 Nov - Frankston Arts Centre (Melbourne)
Sat 14 Nov - The Cube (Albury)
Mon 16 Nov - State Theatre (Sydney)
Tue 17 Nov - Civic Theatre (Newcastle)
