- guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 December 2009 12.10 GMT
'It's attacking boredom, as simple as that' ... Dylan Moran. Photograph: PR
You've developed a reputation for being a curmudgeonly grump. Aren't you a bit young?
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Hang on a minute there, we have to examine this closely. What is the national designated age for the transformation of a well-balanced human being into curmudgeonly grump?
But 38 isn't old, is it?
The thing is, you have to look for a commonality when you're writing about anything and nothing is more universal than lifespan. I'm just playing with the idea of lifespan, my place in it and the resentment that I've left the goodies behind.
Are you looking forward to anything?
I'm not being perverse about this, but it's not about looking forward. You just have to keep staring ahead, and what's approaching is incontinence and memory loss. Yes, I'm doing it because I think it's funny. But it helps when people watch the show that they don't know that.
You're able to evoke vivid imagery with just a few words. Did you ever consider a career in writing rather than standup?
I've been writing since I was very young, even before I was a teenager. As far as I'm concerned, I am a writer – whether my writing's spoken or written in a blog, paper, book or printed on the side of a submarine.
What propelled you towards standup, then?
When I was a child, I wanted to watch things that made me laugh. It's attacking boredom, as simple as that. I was 19 when I first when to a comedy club – I wanted to do it, so I gave it a try and that was it. I found my office.
How was the tour for What It Is? You were on the road for 14 months, which must have been quite gruelling.
Oh, I was knackered, absolutely out of it. I was away from home for far too long and wanted it to be over, that's the truth. But while I'm doing the shows, I've got to do the best I can.
Do you change the material to keep it interesting?
I don't change much, because you get to the point where it's working and you don't want to derail it. It assumes a definitive form and you realise: "Well, that's pretty much there. Anything else I do is just drawing a moustache and glasses on top of it." There isn't a secret to it: I don't have any rabbits I stroke or crème de menthe I put behind my ears before going on. I just try to make sure I can find the building.
You talk a lot about science, religion and belief in the show. What do you believe in?
I didn't have a whole lot of religious belief to begin with: we were the only family on the street who didn't go to church. But it was a big part of Irish society. When I was born, something like 96% of Ireland went to mass every week. It's not like that now, partially because the church has collapsed. I do think it's perfectly natural and human to want to invest belief in something. It's just a facet of who we are. What do I believe in? I believe in the obvious things. The people I'm close to and my work – it's not complicated.
