He’s is an award-winning stand-up comic, having earned accolades in Australia and abroad.
Right now, you can catch Lawrence Mooney on ABC2’s Dirty Laundry Live, where Mooney, co-host Brooke Satchwell and a panel of guests dissect the celebrity behaviours of the week. He’s bringing his characteristic brand of witty and charismatic comedy to the Dunstan Playhouse on 17 October 2014 for his latest stand-up show, Lawrence Mooney is a Stupid Liar.
Mooney draws inspiration from his experiences and observations of everyday life to fuel his stories, drawing influence from family and friends. In fact, Mooney’s wife played a large part in the realisation of this show.
Mooney explains, “I was watching The Hangover Part II with my wife, and the movie starts on the floor of a Bangkok hotel, screening men who are wasted. I said to her, ‘why do you think men get wasted like that?’ and she said, ‘because they can’t handle their own realities and they’re all stupid liars.’ So I started looking at my own life through that prism and realised I really do tell myself lots of little fibs.”
Mooney says everyone is a liar, particularly to and about themselves, but observes that there is a difference between the lies men and women tell.
“Men are particularly good self-liars, where women are a little more based in reality. Women are responsible for the propagation of the population and are responsible for humanity, but men live in a fantasy world for the most part. We see our bodies differently to how they actually are. We think we are doing different jobs and all men fantasise with things like: if I was a cop, or if I was a politician as a form of escapism.”
In comparison, Mooney claims “The lies women tell are based loosely in fact and are always “sewn up perfectly at both ends.”
He goes on to explains, “My wife loves to lie to me and sends me out into the world with loads of misinformation. We were watchingThe Voicelast year and I asked her, ‘how did Seal get those scars on his face?’ Without missing a beat, she said, ‘when he was growing up in Nigeria, (which he didn’t, he grew up in London), there was a terrorist explosion and he was hit with shrapnel.’
“We were having a production meeting one day on Dirty Laundry Live and discussing Seal and Delta and their tryst last year, deciding whether to discuss this pair on the program. I shared with the production meeting how I thought Seal got those scars. Everyone just looked at me and said, ‘what did you say?’ One of our producers just said,’no, that’s not true, it’s the result of Lupus.’
“My wife’s lies are a long-form play as I then came home and explained this and she was fits of laughter.”
Mooney’s articulate, intelligent style is simultaneously fascinating and entertaining. While his stories may be about family and suburban life, we’re not talking Dad jokes.You can expect his stand-up will make you laugh initially, but keep you thinking about the social commentary long after you leave the theatre, which is achieved through a humble and honest form of comedy story telling.
Interviewed by Bree Downs-Woolley
Twitter: @BreeDW
Lawrence Mooney is a Stupid Liar
Venue: Dunstan Playhouse
Season: Friday 17 October 2014 only
Duration: 80 minutes (doors open 7:15)
Tickets:$34.90 – $39.90
Bookings:Book online through the Adelaide Festival Centre website or phone BASS on 131 246
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