Claire Byrne Live hosted Prof. Luke O’Neill and comedian Bernard O’Shea for a chance to showcase the plastic bubbles that could see entertainment venues re-open.
Prof. Luke O’Neill told RTÉ viewers that plastic bubbles could allow people to attend gigs again, after a Flaming Lips concert took place with the audience standing in zorbs.
“It’s superb, this could bring back musicians, all my friends out of work for months, this is a good option,” he explained.
“There were 300 people at that (Flaming Lips) gig, I think it was 100 bucks a head, that’s a bit of income for musicians so could well work.
“You’ve got to be in it for an hour – they say an hour but still the music is beamed in, you can dance around, bounce off each other. The fans loved it.”
Comedian Bernard O’Shea was also enthusiastic about having audiences stand in bubbles at future shows.
“Well Claire, if you’ve ever been to one of my gigs, sometimes I don’t get much of a reaction anyway so it could be a bonus not to actually have to hear them,” he said.
“I think comedy could be difficult because obviously you’re standing, you want people comfortable and sitting.
“For an outdoor gig in Ireland, I would bring this to a normal gig because it’s always raining.”
The comedian joked that “it’s kind of comfortable if you didn’t break wind”, but that “rolling out a vaccine quicker would be more effective.”
The pair also showed the audience signs that could be used in the bubbles, such as “I need a pee” and “I’m hot”.
Viewers however did not seem pleased with the idea, with one Twitter user calling it “freaky” and “dystopian”.
https://twitter.com/HellTomasso/status/1358932505756327938
Thanks for reminding me every now and again why I have never paid the tv licence. The absolute state of RTE
— Damien Mac (@CartholaSanti) February 9, 2021
Reminds me of Bosco!! Tax payers money mis spent at all levels. #rubbish
— Semi_PryV8 (@SemipryV8) February 9, 2021