What would you do if you came back from a phoneless retreat in the wilderness to find out the world had entered a global pandemic, your boyfriend had ghosted you and your mother might be on the way out?
Pretty traumatic, right? All of this happened in the blink of an eye to comedian Anna Clifford, and after letting it all sink in, she reflected on how the absolute absurdity of life can sometimes be the funniest thing about it. Following a sell out Dublin Fringe Festival and her debut at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Anna is bringing her touring show, 'I SEE DEAD(LY ) PEOPLE' to the Roisin Dubh on Saturday February 18.
So firstly... what actually happened?!
"Back in March 2020, I was having existential crisis (although I do have them every Sunday, so nothing new there... ) I decided to embark on a retreat guided by a trained shaman who takes you on this trip to discover more about life," explains Anna. "You turn off your phone, eat vegan food, do yoga - basically there's no sign of a session there or anything like that.
"I did that on March 12 2020, and when I came back on March 17 2020, I turned on my phone and the first notification I was alerted with was about the global pandemic. The next thing I discovered was that my mom had a brain tumor. My boyfriend, who drove me home to be with my parents, dropped me off, and then I never heard from him again."
(First and foremost, Anna's mum is thankfully okay. )
Anna's newfound confidence in the meaning of life, following the retreat, quickly vanished. Anna says: "I thought to myself, I know exactly what the meaning of life is. Then Mother Nature was like, eh no, you don't. I think as Irish people, comedy and our sense of humour gets us through a lot. You have to look back eventually and just laugh."
When did she decide to write the show? "I had to take a step back from it and decide to do it. I think to be able to do something like that when it's personal and painful, you have to have fully gone through it. If someone gets up there and they're joking about this stuff but they're not over it, you can see it and it makes the audience uncomfortable.
"I probably lost my mind for the few first months following. Then I started applying to festivals, which is a really good deadline to give yourself. I didn't even think about performing that story initially because it was so astronomical. But then I reflected on the ghosting for example - I got ghosted pretty badly, and I think ghosting is quite common in millennial dating." She can say that again. Apparently 60% millennials are more likely to ghost someone due to a lack of connection compared to 51% of Gen Zers. Not only this, but 38% of millennials believe that ghosting is a normal phenomenon compared to 20% of Gen Zers... at least the young 'uns are seeing sense!
Anna explains that chaotic feeling, familiar to many of us, that's triggered when you realise you've been ghosted: "Your mind goes crazy. Someone isn't responding to you, and you think, it couldn't possibly be that he doesn't like me. I'm literally searching RIP.ie You go through every possibility first before finally having to accept the unacceptable, that he has no interest." Rejection, one of our greatest fears, is a shared human experience, one we tend to shy away from talking about, and it's comforting to be able to collectively laugh about it. "It's hard to be that vulnerable sometimes but it's more interesting to go there I think," Anna says.
How did she find Edinburgh Fringe Festival? "It was incredible. The entire city is overtaken by comedy and live performances - on the street and in the theatre. I did compilation shows during the day to try and get people to my own show in the evening. It's tough work (I think you have to be mad to do this job ) but it's also really lovely. It's like doing a Masters in comedy because you get so much practice, and and you put so much money into it, and you're not guaranteed a job. But it's a great experience, and I just love it."
Did Anna always want to work in comedy? "I've always loved performance and entertaining people. I studied drama after finishing school, and I still act now a little bit. I just ended up falling more in love with stand up. You can do an acting audition and you walk away, and they're talking behind your back, you're not sure where you stand. When you perform a stand up gig, you know straight away how people are feeling. You're more in control, and I like being in control of my career."
Anna also recently hosted a podcast with Dublin presenter and activist Paddy Smyth. "We wrapped up the first season last year. The idea for the podcast came about during one of the lockdowns. We've been friends since we were 15, and we both love attention and chatting, so it all made sense. I think the concept is really strong - we're in our 30s now, but we're still travelling around the place, we're taking an 'alternative' career route. We don't have the house, the rings on our fingers, the traditional stuff. So we got experts in to advise on the likes of getting a mortgage, relationships, that kind of thing."
Who are Anna's favourite comedians at the moment? "Growing up, I loved Tommy Tiernan and his madness. I think what Joanne McNally is doing is amazing. The way she is overtaking so many male comics is inspirational. She's putting a new generation of Irish female comedians on the map. Meg Reilly is a hilarious online comic who's starting to do stand up herself (her Instagram handle is fewcans ). I think she's doing really well."
Anna will perform her show in the Roisin Dubh on Saturday February 18. Doors are at 7pm. Tickets are €15.
Get yours here: www.eventbrite.ie/e/anna-clifford-i-see-deadly-people-tickets-490382927537
