Passion For Comedy: Grace awarded €5,500 bursary from the BBC
By Aideen O'Flaherty
From taking her first tentative steps into stand-up comedy at 25, to recently being awarded a £5,500 comedy bursary from the BBC, Rathfarnham comedian Grace Mulvey is riding the wave of success.
During 2020, in the midst of gig cancellations as a result of the pandemic, Grace started hosting a well-received comedy podcast about fad diets, and also worked on a script which led to her winning the BBC’s first £5,500 Galton & Simpson bursary for comedy writing.
Comedian Grace Mulvey
A past pupil of Sancta Maria College in Ballyroan, Grace’s comedy career began as an improv performer at Mob Theatre in the city centre, and from there she quickly developed a taste for stand-up comedy – and was a finalist in the Vodafone Irish Comedian of the Year 2017.
The IT Tallaght graduate told The Echo about her passion for comedy, how she felt when she won the BBC comedy bursary, and her plans for 2021.
When did you realise you had a knack for comedy?
I’ve been obsessed with comedy since I was a child. Like every 90’s kid in Ireland, I grew up quoting The Simpsons. But I was so afraid of failure that I didn’t get the nerve to get on stage until I was 25. It still took me until I was about 29 to actually call myself a comedian.
You’ve done stand-up, improv, and sketch comedy, but do you have a favourite medium?
Stand-up, for sure. I miss performing so much right now. There’s nothing like live comedy with a room full of people.
I love improv and sketch comedy too, but you are working with other people which can take a lot more time to get things organised. With stand-up, you are on your own so you have earned every laugh you get – you don’t need permission to try something new on the spot.
Comedian Grace Mulvey
You recently won a £5,500 comedy bursary from the BBC. Where were you and how did you feel when you found out?
The day I knew I was going to find out I was a mess. I was so nervous I couldn’t sit still. Thankfully a friend of mine was available to hang out that day, she basically had to distract me all day as I was so nervous.
I got an email at 5pm from the BBC and immediately had a drink to calm my nerves. I had to get my friend to read the email again for me, as I didn’t believe I had won!
What was your winning script about and how do you hope to develop it?
It’s about a woman who thinks that she can fix everything in her life if she gets to her goal weight, but she just makes everything worse for herself.
My main goal is to make a series out of this script. But, for the moment, I am just working on scripts and seeing where the bursary leads me.
You also host a comedy podcast about fad dieting alongside Conor Dowling. How did the idea for the Fad Camp Podcast come about?
I have always been on some sort of crazy diet my entire life. They’re all a waste of time and money. However, I’ve gotten some very funny stories out of them.
During the first lockdown I just decided to stop dieting and started actually living. But, I thought, if I have crazy stories about fad diets, maybe other people do too.
That’s when the idea of the podcast was born. Since I stopped dieting, I’ve created a podcast and written a script that won a BBC bursary – not bad all round!
What has the response to the podcast been like?
It’s been amazing! I couldn’t believe how many people have tried fad diets and crazy exercise regimes just to be a bit smaller. I think listening to people laugh about their experiences of insane diets makes everyone feel better, and less silly, about being duped into trying the diet in the first place.
Looking ahead, what goals do you hope to achieve in your comedy career in 2021?
The first thing I want to achieve is getting the vaccine! After that I hope to get a pilot commissioned and get back on the stage. We all definitely need a laugh now!
Follow Grace on Twitter @GraceMulvey1, and Instagram @grace88ire. The Fad Camp podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
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