From the smoke-filled rooms of central London comedy clubs to the dazzling stage of the Dubai Opera, Mo Gilligan has carved out a unique niche in the world of comedy, blending his British charm with universal humour that transcends borders.
Gilligan recently performed at the Dubai Comedy Festival in April, 2024, and though the show had its roadblocks (by way of Dubai’s historic downpour debacle), nothing was stopping this comedian from bringing Mo’ jokes to the Middle East.
In this exclusive interview, Mo Gilligan reflects on his comedic evolution, from his early days hosting shows in central London to becoming a household name. He shares the story of how he found his comedic voice, taking risks and trying new things until he discovered the style that felt uniquely his own.
ESQ: Earlier in your career, you’d talk about how trying different styles of comedy “got the laugh, but not the one you wanted”. Do you remember the first time your own style really clicked?
Mo Gilligan: I used to host this show every Sunday in central London and that was my chance to do comedy. I remember there used to be a smoke machine there and I had some material where I would incorporate the smoke machine with the music. That was the first time where I was like, Oh, I like this thing. I want to always try things outside the box, because it was a big risk to do.
I’ve never been a controversial comedian, where that’s sometimes how comedians can take a risk thinking: “well, I’m gonna try this thing but it’s a bit on the edge”. I always wanted to try things that sometimes people hadn’t seen really in comedy, or tell stories in a different way, or try maybe crowd interaction.
With your comedy being so inherently British, exploring the mannerisms of a Roadman and the long standing tradition of “Getting a couple of cans in”, how did you prepare for an international tour around the world?
Mo Gilligan: Luckily, I had time on my side. I had previously gone to L.A. before, so that was always a place that I could judge doing comedy outside of the U.K. That kind of gave me the idea of one, doing a world tour but making it make sense in every place we were able to go to. I think my comedy is massively British, but I guess I always want my audience to have a look into my world.
If you understand it, that’s great. And if you don’t, that’s also great because now you’re going to learn about my world. American comedians can talk about, you know, going to the grocery store and we know what it is. So I will always want to have my brand of comedy that I can tell to the world, and they can hopefully understand what it is without feeling that I need to change it.
The show went well in Dubai. Did Dubai live up to the hype that’s been built up?
Mo Gilligan: Dubai feels like the “hub of the Middle East” in some ways. Everything I’ve always been told about going to Dubai, it kind of lived up to it’s expectations. Whether it’s the fancy cars, the mall that’s got an aquarium in it, and all those amazing things.
So, I think being able to do a show there for me was just as big as any other show I got to do but the coolest thing is that you had people from so many backgrounds there. Which again, you get that in loads of other places I’ve performed in but there’s a lot of Brits there, you’ve got some Americans, and you got the Australians there and they’re not there for holiday, they’re normally there living and working- So it’s even better.
You know, sometimes you can perform in a place and you’re just getting loads of tourists, which is quite different because you’re almost like side-entertainment. Like a Vegas for example. [Dubai] lived up to the hype, man it was a great show I really enjoyed it. For any comic you’re like, is this gonna translate? Are they gonna get it? So yeah, when you look around and you see Black people, Chinese people, Arab people, everyone was there, man. It was a lovely vibe.
Being in Dubai now, I want to see what Abu Dhabi is like. Go over to Qatar or Saudi Arabia. For me, comedy is something that has changed my life, but you want to be able to perform it in as many places around the world as possible.
You spoke about the role of a comic in keeping things light during the dark times in your BAFTAs acceptance speech while at the same time opening up about the tough place you were in your own mental health. Were you apprehensive or excited to have that huge moment to open up to your fans?
Mo Gilligan: I think that was a time in my life where it was a full circle moment. When I do stand up comedy, I’m very transparent with my audience of where my journey is at right now. I know you might see me on Instagram or on a TV show, but the comedy is the [most] transparent Mo you’re ever gonna get. Whether that is the ups of my life, but also sharing the downs.
Luckily enough, I had won two more BAFTAs before that but this was for the [Late-ish] show. It was a full circle moment of them offering the show and saying “we want you” when I wasn’t in a great place, and then you get the thing. I was like “oh my god this is it”.
I think it’s really important to share, especially in those moments as well, I have to share my truth. I can go on there and say something funny, but I can say something funny any other time in the day. That for me was like, coming face to face with my truth saying “look, I know it might look fun on the outside but before this happened, this is where I was, and now I’ve achieved that which I didn’t think was possible”.
Do you wish other comics opened up in similar ways?
Mo Gilligan: Yeah I think we do. I think not everyone’s gonna be as transparent as me sometimes when they’re on stage. Some probably are more as well. It’s like they say, comedy is a form of therapy for us.
I think that was a moment for me where I was like, I’m may never win this ever again. I kind of had it planned that when I accept it, I’ll be funny and all these other things but the raw emotion just came out.
In your Book you talk about the first time seeing your sister’s friends wearing Nike AirMax95s and how they became this status symbol of something to aspire to. Now that you’ve done everything it takes to buy yourself more than a couple pairs of them to fill your sneaker room, do creps hit the same or have you found other symbols of status and interests in your 30s?
Mo Gilligan: For me trainers stem back from like a childhood of not being able to afford a lot of them. Like, “You’ve got Nike Air Max with the air bubble” and that was seen as wealth. So the minute I was able to do what I’m able to do with my own money, I was able to be like, “Ah, cool, I want to indulge in this more than ever”.
I still have a love and a passion for shoes. I’ve gone from the stage of having, like, a lot, and then I’ve had more than enough, and then I’ve had too many. It gets to the point where you’re like, “do I care about these? Or is it my obsession that I care about?”. The minute you’re opening boxes and you’re like, “I didn’t know I had these”- that was my time to be like, do you know what? Just chill out a little bit.
Other fascinations, now I’m in that place where it’s gonna sound so boring but by now I’m waking up in the morning, having a coffee and going for a 5k run. And beating my time is so much more fun. Traveling and seeing the world. I’d rather spend my money on going to a different part of the world and seeing a bit of culture than some trainers. I still love trainers but I can walk into a shop and walk straight back out.
I just tried to entertain that passion and that hunger for stuff in a different way. DIY has become quite fun for me now. You know, just fixing things, putting it together. I just got my bike out of the shed today and fixed my bike. That’s my new thing now. So yeah, they’ve become more fun things in my life as I’ve got a little bit older now.
You’ve definitely come a long way from pulling out Nike wallets at the pound shop. How does your family feel about your success? Does it translate to a Rastafarian father?
Mo Gilligan: I always say my dad has always been the serious one and of my mom’s always been like the funny one. Growing up, he was massively into sport so we always had that kind of sport mentality. Don’t give up, keep going to the end, look after your body, health is wealth, that was my dad. So I guess that I felt like my dad wanted me to probably go down that route.
Whereas my mum was so busy as single parent looking after me and my two sisters. So essentially she was like, “do whatever you like as long as it’s not bringing drama to my house, and it’s not illegal in any way, you’re enjoying it, then you finish it, you do that thing”.
With my family, they’ve kind of gotten used to my success. My mom knows me as her son. My sisters, “that’s my little brother”. They don’t see me as this person that’s on TV or Netflix or any of those things. They’ve kind of have had to adapt to my lifestyle but they’re probably more protective than ever.
I’m very grounded by my family and friends. My family are like, “listen, I don’t care if you’ve been on Jimmy Fallon. You need to make time and see us and go for food”. I’m very fortunate to have a very grounded support base. My friends don’t treat me any differently, they still take the mick out of me and we still make fun of each other because of it and I really appreciate that. Sometimes I’ve done massive shows, and my friends are in the WhatsApp group talking about my outfit. You need that humility. You need your friends to to do that, because they’ve always been like that.
Social media had a huge role in your rise to the comedian we see today, what urged you to make that first video and put yourself out there? Was it calculated or just a moment of inspiration in 2017?
Mo Gilligan: I used to try to be a purist of “you tell all your material at the comedy clubs, that’s where you’re really funny”. But I would try ideas out, not hoping for it to go viral, just that this might be funny if I try this idea out. It was just the one thing that kind of worked out for me, where I just imitated different types of MCs. That was the video that just skyrocketed at that moment where people were sharing it, there was more attention and people were following. Luckily, back then when you went viral, it would last about a week, whereas now it can last half a day.
It depends how you take your moment. I think luckily for me, I was able to do a part one and part two and part three, and just give the people what they wanted. You’re able to see what people like and don’t like, and we try and experiment with this idea and that idea, and just grow organically.
Those early days were were massively key for me of building an audience, but also building an audience and letting them know that I do comedy. Converting them from people that just watched my material online to stand up was the real challenge. People tell me that “I like your videos more than your stand up” or stand up more than your videos. If you like one or the other, it doesn’t harm me. Even if you don’t like it, that’s okay too- comedy is subjective.
Who are Mo Gilligan’s comedy GOATs?
Mo Gilligan: I’ve always been a fan of Dave Chappelle since Chappelle Show, which I think was hilarious. Real laugh out loud comedy when me and my friends were watching that at 16-17. Then you’ve got the stand-up as well like Killing Them Softly is one of my favorite specials.
Big fan of Kevin Hart who I think is a really hilarious comedian but also a great business man as well. You know, it’s great being funny, but you want to turn it into a business somehow so I love his business acumen. The fact that there’s more than comedy whether he does films or he does a campaign with H&M and David Beckham. Feel like that’s really, really cool.
I love the rawness of someone like Katt Williams. Pimp Chronicles, I could just put that on and it just makes me laugh. But then there’s comics in the UK that I have a big admiration for. There’s a comedian called Slim when I was first starting out, he was one of those older comics that’s been on the circuit at that point for like, 20 years. But he’s just hilarious, like so funny. He was on the show the O2 show that we recently released on YouTube and we’re seeing the comments of people like, “when is slim getting a special?”. Slim is absolutely hilarious.
I like Mickey Flanagan. He’s a UK comic. Again, very working class. There’s a lot of comics that I always get different bits of, you know, inspiration from, shall I say. Richard Blackwood was one of the first comics in the UK that I got to watch as a kid. He was on TV and I got to share the stage with him when I first started.
I mean, they’ve all shaped my comedy future but I’d probably say that the biggest thing that really made me fall in love with comedy the most is probably Def Comedy Jam. I remember getting a DVD years ago and watching it and I couldn’t believe how good it was. Wanda Sykes is on there, you got Earthquake, Martin Lawrence. I went into school the next day, and I told everyone “you need to watch this comedy DVD because it’s so raw, what they’re talking about”. I was telling everyone that “there’s this comic, he does this joke about this”, and I’m repeating the joke and everyone’s laughing at me. I kind of had that mixture of what was happening with the music scene at the time with hip hop as well.
What people forget is that if you go back and watch a lot of them, what they’re talking about is a lot of pain. You know, talking about the LA riots, or about Rodney King, Things that weren’t funny back when they were happening but you know, making light in a time when there’s a lot of dark and finding humor in that is exceptional comedy for me, you know?