Tom Moran is a Big Fat Filthy Disgusting Liar – an exceptional level of honesty and openness (Lyric Theatre until Wednesday 19 July before Edinburgh Fringe)

One-man shows are often confessional in nature, full of self-deprecating details and salacious revelations. Tom Moran takes that to a whole new level by dissecting his character in a live autopsy, ripping away the smiley mask to reveal the malignant traits that caused him to lose romantic friends, lose classmates, lose an organ, and lose self-respect from his childhood through to his twenties.

Tom Moran is a Big Fat Filthy Disgusting Liar begins with a near tsunami of information about his childhood, seeded with gags to get the audience giggling on his side. I’m somewhat jealous that he didn’t have to attend parent teacher meetings … though I shouldn’t complain as I think I only had to endure two during seven years of secondary education due to repeated reorganisation of which years needed them that meant my year group sailed through under the radar.

The crowd-pleasing is quickly established. His need for affirmation is demonstrated. The lengths to which young Tom would go to double down on untruths are almost Trumpian. The jovial bonhomie evaporates in the instant Moran steps aside from the warm rug and stool to stand behind a mic stand which features throughout the performance like a naked confessional box. Aoife Kavanagh’s sound design and Colin Doran’s effective lighting assist the transitions.

Soon we’ve jumped into his twenties and adult Tom is becoming more aware of his weaknesses. After a while I begin to wonder whether the show is a form of continuing therapy for the performer? Is this a carryover of the sessions with the perceptive Bronagh from Omagh (my real hero in the tale) who saw through the bull and bravado and poked her finger right into the sore at the heart of Tom’s malaise.

It turns out that the show title’s tense could be altered. Tom Moran’s was probably all those things … although the lying was the only issue that needed addressed. But over an hour, we’ve learned – and he’s reminded himself to the point of tears – why he deceived himself and others.

What began as a tale about a boy turns into a exposé about his mother, uncomfortable at first but then twisted into a celebration. Assuming it’s all true – a doubt that seems misplaced but a nearly inevitable legacy of the show’s title and content – there’s an exceptional level of honesty and openness.

There’s a great Wolf of Wallstreet gag, though the Madeline McCann quip is tonally off and would be best swept under the carpet. Davey Kelleher has done a good job shaping the storytelling and giving Moran places and gestures for each scene. The show’s short tour of Ireland ahead of performances throughout August in the Pleasance Courtyard at Edinburgh Fringe should smooth out the rhythm.

You can catch Tom Moran is a Big Fat Filthy Disgusting Liar at the Lyric Theatre until Wednesday 19 July. It’s in the Civic Theatre in Tallaght (Thursday 20–Saturday 22) before moving into the Pleasance Courtyard Below at Edinburgh Fringe (Wednesday 2–Monday 28 August).

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