Funnyman Tommy Tiernan has said that he is unsure if he will ever return back to stand-up comedy, as the pandemic has left him feeling ‘depleated’.
Speaking to FM104’s Strawberry Alarm Clock Tommy says that the stand-up circuit has been badly affected by the pandemic, with his own shows being put on hold for the foreseeable.
He says that his confidence has taken much more of a hit than his wallet among all of this, admitting that 6 months is a long time to be off the stage doing what he loves.
“The thing I’ve noticed about my own situation isn’t a financial one – I’ll put that on the long finger -what I’ve noticed is I’m losing the confidence and desire to do standup,” he said.
“Something is draining out of my body. I’m living such an unstimulating life at the moment; I think so many of us are. We need physical interaction with large groups of strangers, our bodies get vitamins that way,”
Continuing on he added:
“We’re not getting it right now and it’s tough going. I feel depleted in terms of my standup imagination. I don’t know when it will get back up again.”
All real-life comedy gigs have been cancelled since March of this year, with there no sign of them returning anytime soon. There have been attempts at online comedy shows, with people tuning in from the comfort of their own homes, but Tommy says that enjoying a comedy gig in real life is something that can’t be replicated in the digital realm.
“A vaccine could be 12 months away. We need strangers sitting shoulder to shoulder drinking and laughing.”
“That’s what stand up thrives upon. I notice in myself I’m not in a good place with it. I would say this is tough country.”
Tommy says that while he’s lost his spark for stand-up comedy, he’s willing to take things step by step and maybe make it back on the stage someday. Until then, if you’re looking to get your Tiernan fix you can tune into his weekly podcast ‘The Tommy and Hector Podcast’ alongside pals Hector O hEochagain and Laurita Blewitt.