Man of many talents, Ross Browne, is bringing his new show, Broken Brain, to the Roisin Dubh on Saturday, February 25. The last few years have been busy and full of highlights for Ross - including the international release of his stand-up special 'Ja Know What I Mean', and a sold-out tour in 2019. We sat down with him for a little chat about his new show, and to find out more about what he's been getting up to, broken brain and all.
Firstly, could you tell us more about the new show?
So it's called Broken Brain. At the start of this year. I had a mental breakdown and I thought - if I write about this mental breakdown, it will be funny at some stage. The problem was, I started trying to write the funny stuff immediately when I was in the throes of it, and it really wasn't very good material. But tragedy plus time does equal comedy. I was wrong in thinking I could just bypass the the time and get straight in to the comedy. Lesson learnt! As the year progressed, the funny started to reveal itself to me in a much louder way. Essentially the show goes through the journey of me trying to figure out if my brain is in fact broken, or if it's actually fine and it's the rest of the world that is broken.
Maybe it's a bit of both?
Yes maybe! I guess it's about separating what chaos is going on in your own head versus what's out in the world.
When does the tour start?
I always start every tour that I do in Mike the Pies in Listowel, Kerry (an infamous venue loved by locals, gig goers, musicians and comedians, and hailed by Hot Press many times ). It's not set up like a club or a theatre and yet the acts they get in are incredible. So I'll start the tour there, then I go to Cork Opera House and then on to Galway.
What else have you been upto this year?
I've been very busy! I write for TV and film as well as the comedy stuff (Ross writes for The Young Offenders as well as appearing on it ) and I record podcasts too. We also just won Best Breakfast Show in Ireland (for radio show KC and Ross in the Morning ). I'm writing a book version of this year's show too. It's pretty humorous but probably a bit more self indulgent I guess.
It sounds as though it will be quite relatable for people.
Yes it might be. The show and the book are about me just hitting a wall where I couldn't hold on to my stress anymore, that kind of stuff. Certain things happened in my life and I was consumed by what people might think. But then, what I thought was a 'breakdown' was later revealed to me by a counsellor as my body's way of telling me to just stop and reset. I learnt that enough was enough and I had to change something. You start to realise - I need to start looking after myself! So it's a cautionary tale, but also quite a funny one. It's finding the light in what, from the outside, probably looks like a pretty dull year.
Ironically, this is probably my most playful show. People will see when they go!
Any particularly memorable memorable gigs this year so far?
MC'ing at the Galway Comedy Festival was absolutely great. I think people are just in great form, everyone is just up for the craic. There seems to be a lot less hecklers. The fun stuff still happens, but there's less people looking to disrupt the show. Everyone just wants to be involved and enjoy it together. I think we're in a gig honeymoon period.
What better last minute gift than the gift of laughter?
Get your tickets for the show on Saturday, February 25 here: www.roisindubh.net
