Joanne McNally: On My Cultural Radar

Current favourite book

I travel on my own so much that I rely on books. I've just finished This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay. I knew that he'd gone from being a doctor to being a comedian, but it's interesting to read the whole story. It's hilarious, it's dark, it's sad, it's just the right mix of everything. I also finished Lily Allen's book recently. I was on my own gigging in Cardiff for three days after I'd just broken up with someone, and that book sorted me out. She's an interesting woman. I'm not sure I'd want to be her friend though – she does what a lot of us do, which is looking for external validation rather than validating herself.

Comedian

Jason Byrne. You can't beat Jason, that's just the way it is. I'm in Edinburgh and he is too, and every night there are queues for his 200-seater venue. Abandoman is amazing too. He's an Irish hip-hop improv comedian I've seen loads, most recently here in Edinburgh. He makes up raps about . . . whatever's in your pocket, for example. It blows my mind. And he's the nicest man you'll ever meet.

Play/musical

A couple of days ago I went to see Nick Helm’s musical called I Think You Stink. I’m apparently an idiot for not having heard of him. This is his love letter to horror B-movies, so there are zombies and a dead cheerleader, so it’s spooky but hilarious. I never watch anything twice, but this might change my mind.

Artist/designer

Jill and Gill in Dublin. They make T-shirts and jumpers with people such as Grace Jones and Frida Kahlo on them. My mate Andrea Horan’s shop Tropical Popical recently had an exhibition at the National Gallery, and Jill and Gill designed a beautiful handmade jumper of Countess Markievicz wearing Nike Air Max. I think they’ve just got into Brown Thomas too. They’re going to be huge.

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City

I'm in love with London because I've just moved there. I'm 36, I don't have kids or a husband, so it was time for a change. Yes it's huge and yes it's expensive, but it just feels so alive. I definitely feel more creative there. There are so many more comedy clubs; I love going to Always Be in Kennington, and Headliners in Chiswick for example. In Dublin, big names don't play clubs, they'll do Vicar Street or a tour, but here you'll walk into Always Be and Al Murray or Aisling Bea or Kevin Bridges will be on. That's the vibe.

Actor

Ruth Wilson is the image of Emma Stone, but that doesn't seem to be holding her back. She was in Luther and stole all the scenes from Idris Elba, which is unbelievable. I couldn't take my eyes off her, I wanted the camera to be on her all the time. I was hungry for Ruth. I don't know exactly why, I can't break it down. I Googled her straight away and obviously she's doing great things, like she made a BBC series about her granny called Mrs Wilson.

Podcast

I'm listening to How to Fail by Elizabeth Day. It's helpful because it shows the work that successful people put in. In comedy, you quickly realise that in order to get better, you have to fail, and that's going to happen in public. You can write a book and a reader will be in their livingroom hating it and you'll never know. But with comedy, you only know if it doesn't work when it's coming out of your mouth and no one's laughing. There's also a lot of rejection – you might pitch things, or your nights don't sell well – so you need mental grit. I also love Russell Kane's Evil Genius on BBC Sounds. I was a guest on it recently, but I'm choosing it because it's a clever idea for a podcast: he picks a dead celebrity and debates whether that person is evil or genius. He's done Michael Jackson, Enid Blyton and Mother Theresa. We did Amy Winehouse. You're never going to argue that she was evil, but she did punch fans in the face, there was some questionable behaviour there.

TV show

I love Schitt’s Creek. It’s a fish-out-of-water show about a deluded, rich family – my favourite type – who lose their money and end up living in a small-town motel with their grown children. It’s like if Downton Abbey was a comedy. It’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen, every single character is hilarious. I love Moira’s wigs, and the son, David’s outfits – he goes around this hick town in big Alexander Wang leather capes. And the dad in American Pie (Eugene Levy) is in it, trying to keep the whole thing together.

Joanne McNally premieres The Prosecco Express at Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, as part of Dublin Fringe 2019 from September 10th to 15th. See fringefest.com