A Laugh Affair

From the page to the stage

My blog is at the 2 year mark, and I’m grateful to all my readers for sticking with me, following along as I bumble my way into the world of writing, screenplays, and would you believe… a bit of stand-up comedy. How did it all happen?

Around the time I started this blog, I joined Writing.ie online writing group Writers Ink. The decision to end a 30-year squash coaching career, and focus only on my writing, was quite daunting at first. My life thus far has been filled with adventure, mishap, hilarity and some sadness but all of these experiences are underpinned by an ability to find the humour in it all.

When I first joined Writers Ink I tried my hand at the weekly Wednesday prompts, an image or a quote to get the creative juices flowing. Short prompts morphed into longer stories which I submitted into Thursday Threads and this is where the Writers Ink magic happens. Getting feedback from moderators Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, Maria McHale and my peers in the group was such a boost. Writers Ink was and still is my safe space, a space to experiment and push my boundaries in a group where everyone is willing each other to succeed. Most of my writing is generally, but not always, grounded in my own personal experiences and the words flow easily.

Something else very significant happened shortly after I joined Writers Ink in April 2021. A piece of fiction written by a fellow Inker Val Troy caught my eye. It was a scene at a wedding where the protagonist found herself in a compromising position battling it out with her spanx knickers. I freely admit, I do wear spanx knickers on occasion, usually at weddings or special events, and I too have had some vicious run-ins with them. I remember howling laughing at Vals piece, as it resonated so much with me. Not just the story itself, but the manner in which it was written.

I commented on the piece and made a point of reading more of Val’s stuff on a regular basis. As comedy writers we naturally gravitated towards each other.

Fast forward to October 16^th, 2021 and after six months or so of continuous feedback on each other’s pieces in the group, I found myself in Dublin at a squash event and suggested a meeting of the Inkers group at McSorley’s pub in Ranelagh. Val was first in the door on what was a very wet night. We negotiated covid restrictions and found ourselves a small table by the bar. It was as if the universe said ‘Take a seat you two, there’s a long road ahead, so take a load off while you can’.

We could never have imagined that our encounter in Ranelagh would be the catalyst for our comedy writing collaboration. We co-wrote a comedy screenplay, ‘Men Oh! Pause’ which was long-listed in the Female Pilot Club’s screenwriting competition. This was the validation we needed. Somebody out there read our play and liked it enough to push it forward to another round. We were thrilled. (We’ve since changed the title to ‘Both Sides’ as there are far too many Menopause scripts in the world)

We met regularly at my apartment in Malahide, where all the magic seems to happen. We have been known to sip Prosecco while snacking on wagon wheels developing new projects. It’s the writer’s diet.

The connection between us as comedy writers is quite extraordinary. We are polar opposites in many ways. Val is a former accountant, married with three teenagers, enjoys analysing and strategizing and likes to take her time. I’m gay, living with my partner and her two kids, and I suffer from a terrible dose of impatience. I enjoy instant gratification, quick decision-making, and am scandalously impulsive. So how does it work? It just does. There’s an invisible energy between us that bounces back and forth like electricity. We constantly have each other in hysterics and in public, many of our friends suggested that ‘you two should be on the stage’. That got us thinking.

I spent a year on the Irish stand-up comedy circuit, but I stepped back from it just before Covid because I preferred writing to performing. But Val was determined to give it a go. And that’s what she did. In April this year, she performed her debut stand-up gig at Sin E, a small pub in the heart of Dublin city with a thriving comedy club, Hysteria Comedy. She is a natural. Funny, sharp, and confident. The crowd loved her.

So, what next? We’d discussed branding ourselves as a writing duo, but needed to find ways to build our profile and an audience. Both of us are regular contributors to the Funny Women online magazine – a UK organisation promoting women in comedy for the last 20 years. Following Val’s success as a stand-up we reached out to Funny Women to share that success. Immediately afterwards, Lynne Parker, founder of Funny Women, casually mentioned that she was looking for someone to re-launch the Dublin Chapter of Funny Women and to produce and host a live event in Dublin. Far be it from us to say no, we jumped at the chance. Producing such a show would strengthen our comedy writing credentials, build our profile, and potentially open doors for other opportunities.

After some serious brainstorming, ChatterBoxx was born. It fits us well. Val is all about the chatter, I go on rants about my box, albeit in a delightfully inappropriate way, and generally with reference to perimenopause. A box is also a term for ‘stage’ in showbusiness, and there are two X chromosomes in the female gender, which aligns with who we are. We then launched our profile on Instagram @we_are_chatterboxx. Check us out. We went back to ChatterBoxx HQ in Malahide and put our plans for the show in place.

We targeted some of our own favourite comedians, including Emily Ashmore, Leigh Douglas, Jessica Collins, Kate Feeney, Claire Roche, and Louise O’Toole as our headliner. We coerced one of our favourite writers, Barbara Scully, to join us on the night and read some excerpts from her book Wise Up! (She barely read from the book in the end. She was a natural on the stage and stole the show). We invited Laura Dowling (@thefabulouspharmacist) and her sister Rachel Mulvany, to join us dressed as Wonder Woman and a giant vagina, to discuss women’s health and catapult some free supplements into the audience. Our night ended with a fabulous tribute to the late great Tina Turner, performed beautifully by my step-daughter Kirana Diamantio.

June 19^th was a truly unforgettable night. We had a sold-out show at the main stage at Whelans. A packed house echoed with belly laughs and applause for a solid two hours. Val and I still aren’t quite sure how we managed to pull it all together, but it solidified the notion (and it still might be a notion) that there is some magic there. Magic that we plan on exploring more and more. Our laugh affair is blossoming like a glorious explosion of peonies on a summer day. Stay tuned for updates and more floral explosions this winter…

Please follow ChatterBoxx at we_are_chatterboxx and Val Troy at valtroy, both on Instagram.