SINGAPORE — It has been said that good comedians play an important function in society by holding up a mirror and forcing society to confront realities that it would prefer to ignore. In order to fulfil this function, it behooves any comedian worth his or her salt to find out as much as possible about the city they are going to perform in, so that their jokes can be meaningful and relevant to the audience.

Which probably explains why Irish stand-up comic Dylan Moran spent some time asking us questions about Singapore when we interviewed him recently. The comedian will be performing in Singapore for the first time for his brand new show, Off The Hook, next month.

“I like to ask a lot of questions,” deadpanned Moran.

But does this aforementioned responsibility entitle comedians to go beyond socially-acceptable boundaries? Are there any topics that are out of bounds to comedians? Moran was of the view that it was less about the subject than about its treatment.

“If you want to be funny, you need to be sensitive about it,” he emphasised. “You have to know what you’re getting into.”

However, Moran admitted that there were subjects that he was not particularly drawn to, such as sick humour. “Primitive response,” he said of the practice of making fun of individual tragedies. On the other hand, sexual humour was “mandatory”, adding that a comedian would be “in deep trouble” if his or her repertoire did not discuss sex. Despite the rise of political correctness over the Internet and social media, Moran did not think that public shaming on social media would constrain comedians. As expected, Moran had strong views on this issue of public shaming.

“No point to say I’m in favour of this or against that,” he explained, “The instruments are far too blunt.” He went on to describe this behaviour as “mob mentality (despite the) good motivations behind it — to protect people with no voice against the majority”.

Although Moran’s primary claim to fame is stand-up comedy, he is also known for his acting and writing abilities. But he confessed that the immediacy of standing in front of an audience telling jokes was something he just could not achieve with his other creative pursuits.

“It’s fun and risky and different every night, it’s almost a collaboration with the audience,” he said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s a thrill in trying to get it right.”

He felt that he put himself on the line whenever he was on stage — as he would “make a mirror and hope it’s accurate”. Which brings us back the approach Moran would adopt regarding his Singapore show (while he has been to Singapore, he has never performed here). He felt it was a very interesting time right now as east and west are dealing with each other.

“Singapore is a great example,” he said. “There are lots of foreign workers which raises negative feelings, obviously. It’s east meets west assumptions (with a focus on) ordinary universal life issues.”

That said, Moran insisted he will still concentrate on his favourite topics, even for his Singapore audience. “The ones that keep giving back: Vanity, stupidity and human frailty. Greed, anxieties ... salt and pepper and ketchup!”

Dylan Moran performs in Singapore on Sept 5 at the University Cultural Centre (UCC) Hall, NUS. Tickets from SISTIC.