Watch: These are the comedians making us laugh online during lockdown
Clockwise from top, Laura O'Mahony, Tadhg Hickey, Seán Burke. Killian Sunderman.
One of the surprising perks of the pandemic for many of us has been the opportunity to open social media and within seconds be entertained by an online sketch. While we miss live gigs, many of those who saw their livelihoods stall thanks to Covid-19 have moved their material online. One of these is Cork comic Tadhg Hickey, creative director of local sketch troupe CCCahoots.
“There’s definitely more of a focus on online,” he said. “I'd been preparing to tour a show around Ireland and the UK for the year and all my dates were gone within a week or two. When all that went up in smoke, I thought I've just got to do something and not feel sorry for myself. That's where my putting the effort into Twitter came from.”
Hickey said his work with CCCahoots was mainly shared on Facebook, which they saw as “family friendly” but he has found unprecedented success with his political satire on Twitter in the past year, including his take on hot topics like the British Empire and the history between Israel and Palestine, both subjects he is passionate about.
“I’m interested in politics, I’m interested in history. I ended up getting lots of new followers from the UK, while I wasn't finding that was happening on Facebook at all. Cahoots had a big following, but it was Irish and primarily Cork. Twitter is a door to the rest of the world.”
Where he once trod carefully around sensitive subjects, he now feels comfortable. Topics he once considered too divisive for Facebook are in demand on Twitter.
“I’d be slightly apologising for the content at times on Facebook [in the past], but on Twitter they want it to be more controversial,” he said, adding that he doesn’t set out to be contentious in his comedy. “I find most of that type of comedy boring, to be honest.”
Instead, Hickey enjoys having conversations about topics that aren’t spoken about enough in day-to-day discourse, and the reaction to his video, ‘Loyalism, but in a house share in Cork' is proof that there is an appetite for that content. It amassed 1.5 million views on Twitter and it aired on BBC NI’s flagship politics programme, The View, on the day it was posted.
“I tend to be interested in areas that for some reason are contentious, like the British Empire, or Israel and Palestine. It's an interesting area that's not talked about that much so that's why I would go after it, not primarily to piss people off or even make a political point.
“Comedy is amazing to start conversations in a way that a more serious piece doesn't seem to be able to do. With the British Empire sketch and the loyalism sketch, the majority of my new followers, comments, and even offers of work were all from the UK. It seems like the Brits are well up for having the piss taken out of themselves, it's actually the Irish who are a bit squeamish about doing it.”
Hickey said following his instinct and making comedy that he would like to see rather than what he thinks people want to see has been a key element to his lockdown success.
“I always believe that they're strong, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing them, but it's impossible to know really what's going to take off and what isn't. Anytime I try and repeat the trick, that usually falls flat on its arse.
“Last month, my sketches had over three million views on Twitter. I used to never get those numbers when I was cognisant of not pissing people off or when I was trying to please certain people that I thought I might get a commission from. It's another bit of evidence to just do your thing.”
With the wide reach of his sketches comes the offer of work, and Hickey believes online sketches could pay the bills, albeit indirectly.
“I’ve definitely had indirect work where somebody sees your work and asks you to do a voiceover or they think you might be good at doing a radio documentary,” he said.
“There's been lots of stuff coming in, but it's ancillary as opposed to being direct payment. I know people do Patreon, and other sources like that as well. I definitely know of people that are making good money and it’s only going to increase.”
An inspiration to Hickey is Scottish comedian Brian Limond, whose online success as Limmy pre-pandemic paved the way for a range of revenue sources, despite his strong accent and hyper-local comedy.
“He’s got this thick Glaswegian accent, and you’d think it’d never work on a grand scale when it's too niche, too offbeat or your accent is hard to understand. But the man has a massive following in the States, his figures are extraordinary,” Hickey said.
“He's able to do whatever he wants because he's got a fan base for his content. That's the bar for most people online, where you're doing your own thing and you have enough followers that you can make a living out of it, which he does with his books and his tours. That's definitely an inspiration to people like me.”
While his videos are only a few minutes in length, Hickey said he could spend up to two weeks researching and preparing for a sketch, particularly if it’s about a heavy subject so he’s prepared for the inevitable arguments on Twitter.
“I’m planning a part two of the Palestine sketch and I've literally been researching it for a week or two. I'm doing a lot of reading and I've been sourcing other info for that I don't have,” he said.
“That's probably a bit extreme, but if I’m going to take on a sensitive area I want to have my research done so when people come at me on Twitter, at least I’ll know I did the research. A big part of it as well is being able to defend yourself against screwballs accusing you of racism and antisemitism and whatnot.”
He said the videos he made on the British Empire and loyalism reached so many people it was “mind-boggling” and added he has been followed on Twitter by high profile political people in the UK. A bonus to him is being able to share information about global issues in an accessible format.
“Without being a bleeding heart lefty, I actually really care about all these issues. I care about stuff that's going on in the Middle East, I care about Britain not knowing enough about its own colonial history. If that information's getting out there as well, that's an incredible bonus on top.”
CCCahoots member Laura O’Mahony has seen her following on Instagram quadruple during lockdown as she experimented with her online format.
“I haven't been making sketches but in the first lockdown I started playing different characters and ended up running a pretend holiday resort in my own house on my Instagram page,” she said.
“At one point I think I had about 22 different people staying in this imaginary resort. My Insta following quadrupled as a result and everyone joined me in my very own version of Trabolgan.”
O’Mahony said she has “created an online space that is just pure craic and fun” to help everyone “cope with the world being a bit scary. The world can't be scary if you are playing make-believe in your own home with your family every day.”
Beyond the pandemic, O’Mahony, who has been performing stand-up since 2013, will relish a return to the stage.
“I absolutely refuse to keep my comedy online. That is not the place where I want to be. I need a live audience. I need to see the faces. I refuse to accept this as a new normal. There are plenty of great comedians making their presence felt online but I am an old-school stand-up. I want to stand in front of a real-life crowd and make them laugh.
“I think it is, of course, important to adapt to the current climate but I also think it is important to push for a return to normality and normality for me is comedians in clubs, pubs and theatres making people laugh.”
London-based impressionist Seán Burke has been making videos since 2012 but doubled down on his online sketches in the last year.
“I think the cut-off point for being labelled an overnight success has sadly now been missed,” he said. “Making sketches throughout the pandemic has been an absolute lifesaver. It gave me a creative outlet and a way to fill the free time stuck indoors with some genuine productivity.”
Burke said the reaction to his videos has been incredible and he is amazed by how many people watch them.
“The most recent big one is a video about the UK donating vaccines to Ireland. That got around half a million views. It's hard to actually get my head around the fact that there are real people behind those numbers. It's probably best I don't. I think I'd have an anxiety attack.”
He believes comics can make a living online, even if it is through ‘“online busking”.
“Websites like Ko-Fi allow viewers to tip me the price of a cup of coffee as a sort of thank you for the videos. It's like virtual busking. It allows me to cover the cost of props, invest in new equipment and most importantly feed my caffeine addiction. I am physically shaking as I write this. People have been very generous and I'm hugely grateful for that.”
When live gigs return, he said he hopes to try stand-up as he has “unfinished business” with the genre. “Other than that, it would also just be nice to work with someone other than myself for a change. That guy's a dick.”
Hedge and wall connoisseur and TikTok star Killian Sundermann said he is new to comedy and only started sharing videos because of the pandemic.
“I didn't start properly making sketches for social media until last April when I found myself, like most people, with lots of time and nothing to do with it. I'd always thought "why not give it a shot" and so I did,” he said.
Sundermann said the reaction to his videos has been great and he often has to redefine what a successful sketch is.
“The first time a video of mine did well it got 30k views on Twitter and I was giddy at home waiting for Stephen Spielberg to call and beg me to be in his new movie. But then the goalposts shift and your standard for ‘viral’ changes. I had one video get over three million views on TikTok and it was on the front page of Reddit, that was really cool.”
While he has always been online-only, Sundermann said he would like to do a live gig.
“I'm very comfortable with videos, I work as a video editor. What I'm more conscious about is moving my comedy offline, how to make a joke on a stage in front of an actual person, or people rather, it'd probably be better if there was more than one person in the audience.”
In the meantime, his goal is to work with more of Ireland’s online comedic community.
“I'd love to do more collaborations with other comedians and maybe make longer sketches with actual narratives. There's such a wealth of comedic talent at the moment. I'd also like to try out some live stuff and maybe some improv.”
