Dara Ó Briain yana ɗaukar hotonsa har yanzu sa’ad da na isa ɗakin shirya fina-finai a yammacin London. Mai wasan barkwanci yana buƙatar hotuna masu ban dariya, don haka Pål, mai ɗaukar hoto, ya sa shi zaune a ƙasa yana riƙe da nadi na takarda mai launin tsatsa da yake amfani da shi a matsayin bango. Yana kama da rufin yana faɗuwa a kan Ó Briain. Ya kira ni. "Za mu iya daidaita hirar don ta dace da hotunan," in ji shi. "Farawa da: shin ka taɓa jin kamar an kama ka a cikin akwati?"
Da aka gama ɗaukar hoton, ya cire jaket ɗinsa kuma muka tafi kan hanya don nemo wuri mai natsuwa a cikin gidan mashaya. Akwai sabon kakar Mock the Week, shirin wasan barkwanci na siyasa wanda ya gudana tsawon shekaru 17 a BBC Two har zuwa 2022 kuma yanzu an sake farfado da shi a tashar TLC mai kyauta. Jerin masu wasan barkwanci sun kafa ƙungiyoyi biyu kuma suna gasa a cikin wasan kwaikwayo na karya, suna amsa tambayoyi game da labaran makon da ya gabata, amma da gaske kawai suna ƙoƙarin yin ban dariya.
Ó Briain, mai shekaru 54, ya kasance mai gabatar da shi tun farko. A cikin shirin na asali, baƙi na yau da kullun sun haɗa da Hugh Dennis, Frankie Boyle, da Ed Byrne, amma sau da yawa ana kawo sabbin masu barkwanci ma. "Ya zama irin ball na farko ga mutanen da suka kai kololuwa a Edinburgh kuma suna shirye su fito a allo," in ji Ó Briain, ba tare da girman kai ba.
Lokacin da Mock the Week yake a BBC, an yi zargin cewa ba'a tana kan masu ra'ayin mazan jiya daga hangen nesa na hagu. Ó Briain, wanda ya bayyana kansa a matsayin "tsakiyar hagu," ya ce hakan yana da alaƙa da abin da ke faruwa a Westminster: "Ga mafi yawan wannan lokacin, akwai gwamnatin Tory – Firayim Minista na Conservative bayan Firayim Minista na Conservative – don haka a fili muna kallon su." Amma ya kuma yarda cewa akwai yuwuwar gaskiya a cikin waɗannan zarge-zargen. "Ba na jin wani ya yi hujjar Brexit a duk lokacin; babu wanda a Mock the Week ya ce: 'To, watakila mulkin kai ko wani abu…'"
Shirin ya ƙunshi masu barkwanci masu ra'ayin mazan jiya kamar Geoff Norcott da Simon Evans, amma masu ra'ayin mazan jiya ba su da wakilci sosai a cikin barkwanci na Biritaniya. Ó Briain bai san dalili ba – watakila saboda "alkiblar da kake buga nufa tana da muhimmanci ko kuma mutane ba sa son ta," in ji shi. "Na ga masu barkwanci suna yin barkwanci game da, alal misali, ma'aikatan jinya koyaushe suna neman kuɗi, sai masu sauraro su ce: 'A'a, ba na tunanin haka, ba za mu tafi tare da kai a kan wannan ba.'" Kada ka yi ba'a ga masu rauni. Amma haka nan, ya ba da shawara, masu sauraro ba sa son idan ka wuce gona da iri a wata hanya – "mai farin ciki da yawa."
Duba hoto a cikin cikakken allo
'Yawanci maza bakwai ne a kusa da tebur: suna ƙoƙarin samun kansu, akwai gwiwar hannu' … yana gabatar da Mock the Week. Hoton: BBC
Wani zargi da aka yi wa Mock the Week shi ne cewa shirin ya kasance mai mugunta, mara tausayi, kuma na maza – wurin bear pit na shirin inda masu barkwanci masu ƙarfin hali suke tura juna don su shiga cikin ba’arsu. Jo Brand ba ta ji daɗi ba lokacin da ta fito.
Har yanzu, Ó Briain ya ce sukar ta kasance gaskiya. "Yawanci maza bakwai ne a kusa da tebur: suna ƙoƙarin samun kansu; akwai gwiwar hannu." Amma ya nuna cewa shirin ya fara fiye da shekaru ashirin da suka wuce, lokacin da wannan al'ada ce ta shirye-shirye irin wannan (duba kuma Never Mind the Buzzcocks). Ó Briain ya ce da bai so ya zama ɗan takara ba. "Da na ga shi ya yi yawa; ina son in gina ƙarfi a kan wani abu na banza. Amma yanzu ya zama mai yawan tattaunawa."
Yayin da akwai abubuwa da yawa da za a tattauna a cikin mako na yau da kullun, wasu batutuwa sun fi cancantar ba'a fiye da wasu. Trump, alal misali, ba kyauta ba ne kamar yadda kake tsammani. "Musamman Trump na biyu, Trump mai duhu. Babu ma kuskuren ban dariya kuma. Yanzu, ya zama abin koyi na kansa, don haka abin ban dariya ne sosai cewa watakila ya daidaita rashin hankali, har zuwa wani matsayi. Kuma ka sani, barkwanci ya riga ya kasance – me muke ƙarawa a kai? Zai zama kamar yin barkwanci game da th..."
---
Me game da Keir Starmer? "Mummuna. Bai yi kome ba kuma bai faɗi kaɗan ba." Yana nufin a matsayin batun tattaunawa, ba a matsayin ɗan siyasa ba – ko da yake bai ji daɗin yadda ya tafiyar da ƙasar ba. Har yanzu bai san Andy Burnham ba – ba su sami damar yin ba'a a kan ɗaya daga cikin makonninsa ba – amma yana ganin yadda ya hau mulki abin dariya ne. "Makerfield za ta zaɓi Firayim Minista yanzu, haka ake yi?"
To me ko wa ya zama kyauta ga Mock the Week? Peter Murrell da badakalar kuɗin SNP, in ji shi: "Ba laifi marar wanda aka azabtar ba, domin ina tsammanin mutanen da suka ba da gudummawa ga SNP su ne waɗanda aka azabtar. Amma cikakkun bayanai sun kasance cikakke: adadin na'urorin wasan bidiyo, ma'aunin gishiri na £2,000 [Murrell ya kashe £2,618.16 a kan Lalique Feuilles na barkono da gishiri], da kuma gaskiyar cewa Nicola Sturgeon ta yi ƙoƙari ta nuna kamar ba ta san cewa surukanta ba zato ba tsammani suna da motar camper mai ƙafa 30." Sun sami abubuwa da yawa daga wannan a kakar da ta gabata – fiye da nisan da motar camper ta yi, wadda kawai ta tashi daga dillali zuwa titin gidan surukai.
Yanzu, an 'yanta shi daga ƙuntatawa na rashin son kai na jama'a da bincike, kuma tare da ƙarin mata da ke ciki – ciki har da Sara Pascoe, Maisie Adam, Laura Lexx, da Angela Barnes – watakila Mock the Week wuri ne mafi kyau, ko da yake yana da ƙarancin masu kallo (kadan fiye da miliyan ɗaya ciki har da maimaitawa) fiye da fiye da miliyan 3 da ya samu a lokacin kololuwar BBC.
Ó Briain ba a yi nufin ya zama mai barkwanci ba. Ya yi karatun lissafi da ilimin kimiyyar lissafi a Jami'ar College Dublin a farkon shekarun 90. Ya ce shi matashi ne mai kunya kuma mai jin kunya amma ya tura kansa ya shiga ƙungiyar muhawara a UCD. A lokacin wata muhawara, ya faɗi wani barkwanci: "Ya sami dariya da tafawa, kuma na tuna wannan gudun adrenaline da na yi tunani: oh hello!"
Har yanzu yana jin wannan gudun, ko da yake farin cikin bai kai ƙarfi ba, kuma yana iya ɗaukar wasan kwaikwayo na sa'o'i biyu maimakon barkwanci ɗaya don isa wurin. Amma yana son aikin, kuma yana kai shi wurare masu kyau kamar Athens, Barcelona, da Stockholm (da kuma Chatham, Dorking, da Leicester). Ƙungiyoyin wasan kwaikwayo guda biyu na baya-bayan nan sun fi mayar da hankali kan labarai fiye da barkwanci – kuma sun fi na sirri.
An haife shi a Bray, County Wicklow, Ó Briain an ɗauke shi a matsayin ɗa a cikin abin da ya bayyana a matsayin "gida mai kwanciyar hankali" kuma yana da farin ciki a ƙuruciyarsa. Shekaru kaɗan da suka wuce, ya yanke shawarar gano ainihin iyayensa. "Shirin ba shine ya zama wasan kwaikwayo ba; wani abu ne kawai da nake buƙatar bincika saboda motsin zuciyar ɗan adam na yau da kullun. Na san koyaushe akwai wannan labarin da ke jiran a buɗe shi, kuma abin da ya tura shi ne cewa babu ɗayanmu da ke ƙara ƙarami. Na san mutanen da suka sami iyayensu sannan suka sadu da su a gidan jinya, kuma suna da cutar Alzheimer."
Ya gane cewa labarin ba game da shi kaɗai ba ne bayan kallon fim ɗin Philomena. "Na fito daga gidan sinima tare da fahimtar kwatsam cewa wannan ba labarina ba ne da gaske – ni jariri ne kawai a ciki. Amma akwai mace da ta yi ciki kuma ta tafi wannan tafiya," in ji shi. "Labarinta ne, kuma ya kamata in yi ƙoƙari in tuntuɓe ta don rufe wannan da'irar a gare ta kuma in sanar da ita cewa ya zama mai kyau – na sami iyali mai kyau da duk wannan."
Yana da wahala – duka a fannin gudanarwa da kuma motsin zuciya – amma ya same ta, kuma suka sadu. Ya kasance mai wahala kuma baƙon abu. Ya sami sabbin ƴan’uwa da yawa. Ya ba da labarin a cikin wasan kwaikwayonsa So … Where Were We?, wanda ya lashe mafi kyawun rangadi a kyautar Chortle a 2023.
Wasan kwaikwayonsa na gaba, Re:Creation, wanda yake yawo a Turai, yana ba da labarin ƙoƙarin gano mahaifinsa na haihuwa. Babu ɓarna (har yanzu akwai wasu ranaku da suka rage, da kuma yana kan Amazon Prime), amma ya ƙunshi ƙarancin baƙin ciki da fushi fiye da shirin da ya gabata. "Wani ɗan wasa ne, tare da juyi t..."
