Deirdre O’Kane is having a moment. It’s not her first, and pray God it won’t be her last, but it’s definitely a moment, and from my perch squarely in the demographic sweet spot of her target audience, I’m here for it. She’s in the midst of a squillion-date Irish tour that motors on into the early months of 2025. She recently sat opposite Tommy Tiernan on his TV show, where she pulled off both a gold suit and a frank take on sexism in comedy, and was among the star-studded cast of Prime Video’s Last One Laughing Ireland. Small wonder there’s a podcast in the mix now too.
But O’Kane is not alone here, and that’s the joy of it. In Keep it Tight, her newest audio endeavour produced with panache under the HeadStuff umbrella, she’s joined by having-her-own-moment-thank-you Emma Doran. The premise is nothing ground-shattering: two comedians roam free over whatever terrain they choose. Follow at your leisure, or your peril: these two don’t care either way.
The whole shebang kicked off in February, not long after Last One Laughing Ireland finished its six-episode run, and they’ve been on a roll since, throwing out weekly episodes where they wax comedic on topics personal, political and philosophical with lashings of where-would-you-be-going? and a fair dose of cop-on-to-yourself. The two are obviously friends: their comfort with each other is largely a delight, and lends the whole thing a winning intimacy, as if you really are on the inside of a small, wheeze-laughing circle.
Topics covered over the weeks have included vaginal numbness, the mechanics of mammograms, shushers at singsongs, the perils of pencil skirts, why men are so fond of walking a few steps ahead of women, and the death of OJ Simpson. When O’Kane and Doran go off on one together, as they are wont, they’re a streak of snort laughs, but they’re landing a punch within the punchlines too.
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Take those pencil skirts: Doran gets animated about the particular generation of Irish women who were expected to join the workforce, clean the home and mind the children, and for their pains were offered reality-TV shows such as How to Look Good Naked and Ten Years Younger. “She doesn’t need f***ing veneers,” says Doran bluntly. “She needs equal pay!” “Veneers!” counters O’Kane. “Would you give the poor woman a bit of time off!” If you didn’t laugh, etc.
What’s endearing about these two is their frank and often brazen charm, a disarming realness that can easily carry you through an entertaining half-hour or so of two women whose laughter is infectious and who make you feel as if you’re in on the joke. Unstructured two-handers are a tried and tired format: you can’t swing an earphone jack without hitting a two-mates podcast these days. To make it work you’ve got to be very funny or very well produced, both of which apply here, though the shorter episodes work better than the more rambling fiftysomething-minuters. Keep it tight, ladies, and you might be on to a winner.
