Do Tell Your Ma: GloriousMegann on Authenticity, Irish Influences, and finding a place in comedy.
By Katie McShane
I had the pleasure to sit down with Megan McKay, an up-and-coming comedian, TikTokker, and Lambeg native. Gloriousmegann as she is known on TikTok, began posting earlier this year as an outlet for the creativity she couldn’t express studying law. Since then, she has exploded onto the Kent comedy scene with plans to now return home, victorious with a brand-new comedy special in tow.
How did it feel stepping onto stage to perform for the first time?
McKay took to the stage for the first time with little notice and armed with material scribbled onto the back of a receipt. The result was clearly electric, Megan described it as “liberating” and “hopeful”, the opportunity having landed on the back of a tough breakup.
“Oh my God…my whole world hasn’t completely fallen apart”
She also touched on the mercurial nature of audiences and performance, stressing that “you can have five really great gigs then have twelve terrible ones”. Despite her strong start, standup was not always successful and for a month or so McKay struggled. Truly a testament to her own resilience McKay battled any growing pains and came back stronger than ever before launching her own comedy special. Similar to her first stint standup, the special “The Last Laugh” was a quick turnaround. McKay wrote the hit in record time, workshopping pieces online before bringing the show to stage. “It was unmatched, like it was just you know people coming and seeing and actually caring about the story your telling”
Would it be a completely different experience to say, recording a TikTok?
“I think that if you think about it for too long, then it becomes too, like, artificial” “I think people really crave authenticity, in this age we live in, everything is literally so vague. And I think that people really want something that’s like relatable”
Despite clearly understanding what content works, Megan described how she doesn’t let these thoughts interfere with her own content. With this insight it’s easy to understand why her videos are so popular, their relaxed nature is refreshing compared to the perfect falsified lives we are so used to seeing online. “I try not to think too much about that, because I think if I think about ‘Is this video relatable?’ the second you start making TikTok’s for likes or for views, you’ll fuck it”.
As for her comedic writing, Megan listed Irish influences such as Shane Todd and Ciaran Bartlett as being fundamental to her craft. She began listening to Todds ‘The Rave Lockdown’ in 2020 and along with Bartlett, “the funniest man who’s ever walked the Earth” they are probably the only two celebrities she could perceive having a ‘parasocial relationship’ for.
You spoke about storytelling; would you say that aspect of Irish tradition has influenced you and your comedy?
“Absolutely, I think that nearly every influence I have on any work I create is Irish based”. Including her friends and especially her parents in that statement, Megans influences are almost exclusively homegrown.
“I would say they were the greatest influences on me growing up”.
Expressing the difference between English and Irish comics Megan noted how Irish comedy “feels more like stories than just punch, punch, punch, punch” of the English comics obviously a testament to our “rich history of storytelling”.
Do you find it hard being a content creator from Ireland, I feel as a nation, we’re nervous to put ourselves out there like that?
“I think we have a problem accepting that we are those things…I would never ever ever call myself an influencer because like what am I influencing anyone to do?”
Did moving to England help?
“I think the English, they find it easier to take pride in these things”, as well as putting distance between her hometown, Megan also noted how the change in culture began to alter the way she saw self-pride.
“I think that women, and with Irish women especially, I think we should take more pride especially when we do well”. McKay describes having to push back against these notions especially on occasions when others try to “push” her down, “as of late I have started going, well lad, actually, you know I deserve to be here”.
Megan also went on to describe how comedians who began from TikTok are looked on upon by more ‘traditional’ comedians. “I think people can really just dismiss you as well for being an influencer…I think there’s a level of, oh well you’re only doing this because you think you’re funny on that, and it’s like if something works it works”. It became clear that not only was writing content a skill to be refined but also how you carry and take pride in yourself.
Do you think AI is going to have any effect on the comedy world?
“I think it already has…I think that we’re already kind of seeing stuff like that with these AI slop shorts”. The topic of AI in comedy once again comes back to the authenticity we discussed before. Generative AI may pose to be a problem in comedy, as with all creative pursuits, but Megan also mentioned a repercussion less spoken about in which AI essentially steals comedians routines, “I see a lot of people’s stuff and I go, oh, I’ve already seen this on reels”.
Megan made her opinion to me known stating that “It has no place in the comedy world, absolutely none”. She also puts her beliefs into action and McKay has started a new policy where she doesn’t work with gigs that utilised AI in their promotion – “If you’re using AI to make a poster, you’re not an artist, if you’re using AI to write comedy, you’re not a comedian”.
Have you ever had any experiences with parasocial relationships yourself?
“Yeah, I have…it comes in like two different pockets of people, I would say there’s a lot of young people who are very parasocial with me”, aside from this Megan stated that the other group was men. These experiences in particular have been a learning moment for McKay with how careful she now has to be with sharing content online, “I’ve kind of learned of what you can and what you can’t post”. With not only her own account but her friends too, Megan shared how she now has to analyse every photo she posts and consider any implications it may bring.
Ok this ties in well – How has your life changed since going viral?
“It’s become a lot busier…I do an awful lot more”, aside from the obvious increase in commitments and work Megan also emphasised the emotional and social changes comedy has brought her. “I feel like I have a lot more sense of community, like I’m in a comedy club at least twice, three times a week”, summing it up as a “good stress” it’s clear the community comedy grants her makes all the extra work worth it for McKay.
As for continuing this sense of community, Megan has recently opened her own comedy club. Based in Kent, ‘Glorious Gags’ runs regularly featuring other up-and-coming local comedians. Megan brings her new tour “Don’t Tell Me Ma” home for the first time. You can catch it June 22nd, at Donegal Celtic in West Belfast. The show features all the stories from uni you wouldn’t want your mother to know and is sure to be another knock out of the park for McKay.
