Grace Mulvey was the first recipient of the Galton and Simpson Bursary Award aimed at writers so it is obvious that she can be funny on paper (or computer screen or phone or wherever you see things written down these days). Her latest show, Did You Hear We're All Going To Die? underlines that the London-based Irish comic is also hilarious onstage (or in person, or wherever you happen to see her). She has the word funny running through her veins. 

In her new show she is talking about death and how we are all only here for a short time so we might as well make the most of it. She recalls how growing up in Ireland she was perpetually going to funerals of people she had barely met. Burying the body was almost incidental, these were also big social events. Unlike the English, Mulvey suggests that the Irish seem to have a particular fondness for death and an easy relationship with it. A particular in memoriam website is a massive hit there – a fact eagerly confirmed by at least one audience member on the afternoon I was in.

But while seizing the day is the underlining theme of the show, Mulvey has a way of skipping from story to story, not always connecting them, but everything she touches turns to funny. She is sharp and quick and good with the crowd, bouncing off casual remarks and employing random comments to unearth new jokes. A simple enquiry about how long a couple have been together triggers a winning riff about the pros and cons of marriage. 

There are pros and cons of the material pinging off in all sorts of directions too, from clean eating to dreaming of having an online sugar daddy to fund your lifestyle to "ham, coleslaw, beetroot – Irish tapas". Sometimes it feels a little too scattershot but Mulvey has so much charm and relatability that you are laughing so hard you barely notice. 

Eventually though she gets back to the main thread, reminding us of our own mortality. Yes, it's sadly true that we are all going to die. Just make sure you see Grace Mulvey before it happens to you. 

Until August 24. Buy tickets here.

Picture by Karla Gowlett

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