THE notorious writer of parody Facebook page, Dundonald Liberation Army, is gearing up to take his jokes to the stage.
For over a decade, Stephen Large has gripped the country with his satirical social media posts, acting as a humorous fictitious news source dubbed ‘the DLA’.
With 63,000 followers, the 44 year-old’s sense of humour has been well received not only online, but through his plays, such as Three’s a Shroud, which have packed out Belfast’s Waterfront.
Now the father-of-two is ready to take the spotlight himself, as he steps onstage to deliver his stand-up comedy tour.
Stephen explained how last year, following the death of his father, he decided to quit his job of 15 years, working as a production planner at a carpet manufacturing business, to pursue his dream of simply making people laugh.
“I had been considering making the plunge into comedy full-time for ages, as I did have a day job,” he said.
“I decided to pack in the day job and go for it – obviously not a decision that you take lightly with a mortgage and kids.”
Stephen explained how he got into comedy about 15 years ago and as things progressed it essentially became a full time second job.
“The more things mounted up, the more impossible it was becoming to juggle everything,” he said, adding that he knew he would have to pick between his job and comedy.
“Genuinely, I know it sounds corny, but I love making people laugh,” Stephen said about his new full-time venture.
Stephen recalled seeing a play in the Grand Opera House, The History of the Troubles According to My Da, by playwright Martin Lynch and seeing audience members laughing and being inspired to pack out the same theatre with his own writings.
“I set myself that target and fortunately after a lot of hard work and knockbacks, and more knockbacks, it eventually happened in 2023 when I had a week of shows in the Opera House on the main stage,” he continued, describing it as a bucket list moment.
“You do have to be very thick skinned. A couple of times after disappointment, you maybe want to pack it in but you take a day to get back at it,” he added, noting that there were a lot of knockbacks behind the scenes.
Following the success of Leesa Harker’s parody book and play 50 Shades of Red, White and Blue, which started off with an online following, Stephen reached out to Martin Lynch in hopes of following ‘the same model’ and shortly after Three’s a Shroud hit the Waterfront stage.
The BBC NI comedy department also helped bring Stephen to the attention of the masses, when they asked him to write some comedy sketches when both Ireland and Northern Ireland football teams qualified for the Euros.
Stephen said he was feeling ‘very fortunate’ as opportunities came into place but noted that there were some ‘disasters’ along the way, recalling how the opening night of his first play at Strand Arts Centre was hit with delays when the sound system broke.
“It was a baptism of fire. Anything that could have went wrong did go wrong. But I’ve continued on and I’ve been fortunate enough to sell out the Opera House and the Waterfront and different venues around the country,” he said.
Stephen said that while watching his plays he wondered if he could be the person to make the audience laugh, rather than the actors.
“Shortly before the pandemic I decided I was going to give it a go at an open mic and see how it went but literally as I made my mind up to do that lockdown came in and I spent the next 18 months making banana bread,” he joked.
Finally Stephen had the chance to take to the spotlight and give stand-up a go in December 2021, however he managed to catch Covid-19 and spent Christmas Day in isolation.
Now Stephen looks forward to his stand-up tour Stephen Large – Having it Large, with shows planned for Downpatrick, Omagh, Belfast, Portrush and Cookstown.
Hoping to inspire anyone wanting to follow in his footsteps, Stephen said: “I suppose if I had any advice for anyone looking to get into the comedy ring, it would be just showcase what you are doing and eventually people will come to you.”
“Nobody really takes any notice of you until you have proven you can crack a joke,” he added, noting how his career had stemmed from his popular Dundonald Liberation Army (DLA) Facebook page.
Tickets to Stephen’s shows can be bought online at: nicomedy.com
