OPPORTUNISTIC DUBLIN comedy impressario Buzz O Neill hasn t been letting the grass grow under his feet since pulling down the shutters on the Corduroy Comedy Club at Dublin s Norseman just before Christmas. The club has now moved to Vicar Street where, in conjunction with Guinness, the ubiquitous Buzz has lined up a star-studded cast for what promises to be a weekend of unbridled ribaldry at the inaugural Sit Down Stand-Up Comedy Festival. Who better to get the ball rolling on St Patrick s Day than Kevin McAleer, who along with Dara O Briain and Joe Rooney will be spinning a fine line in good old fashioned Oirish yarn.
Next up, on Thurs 18th, are Fast Show regular Simon Day, this fortnight s Hoot Press interviewee, the sublime Alan Parker Urban Warrior and Ireland s own Ian Coppinger. The stars of Channel 4 s Gas take up the baton on Fri 19th, with up-and-coming British stars Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt and Chris Addison strutting their stuff under the watchful eye of compere Lee Mack. And finally, the excellent Dylan Moran whips them in on Sat 20th, aided and abetted by Barry Murphy, Eddie Bannon and John Henderson. (Cast a cold eye on this fortnight s competition if you fancy gaining admission free, gratis.)
Hoot Press proprieter Barry Glendenning takes time out from golfing with his close personal friends and colleagues Brucie and Tarby to perform three nights at O Connell Bridge s Laughter Lounge on Thurs 4th/Fri 5th/Sat 6th March, along with top Australian headliner Matthew Hardy and homegrown comedy blossoms and LL regulars Eddie Bannon and John Henderson.
Paddy Englishman Mark Hurst tops the Laughter Lounge bill on Thurs 11th/Fri 12th/Sat 13th where he will be ably assisted by the smouldering triumvirate of sexpots Dara O Briain, Paddy Courtney and Amelia Crowley.
It ll be possible to cut the atmosphere with a knife (and watch those punters try!) when Barry Murphy storms the stage for the opening night of Limerick s new comedy club, The (very original name, this) Cellar, at The Lodge Nightclub in Castletroy on Saturday 6th March. The star of Couched and Apris Match headlines a strong bill which also features former UL Law Lecturer Michael Mee (both Pat Cox and Willie O Dea gave up the same job to embrace comedy careers) and ace mimic Gerry Lavelle. Jason Byrne has already been pencilled in for the following Saturday, along with fellow Dubs John Henderson and David O Doherty.
As if picking up their fortnightly edition of Hot Press wasn t excitement enough, Dublin comedy buffs will be moist with anticipation at the prospect of tuning into Anna Livia Radio (103.8FM) for a two hour feast of comedy every second Thursday for the foreseeable future. Hosted by Dave Barry (no, not the American satirist of considerable renown but a top pop-picker of the same name), After Hours goes out from Midnight to 2am and features the best in recorded comedy (Hicks, Seinfeld, Mason, Martin, Python, Coogan, Connolly, Cosby, Seinfeld yada, yada, yada . . .) competitions and an eclectic choice in top tunesmithery. Don t touch that dial you kerazzy cats!
Sadly, as one comedy door opens another closes. The shutters were rather abruptly pulled down on Today FM s Murray And Mackey Show last week, coincidentally just three days after their 100th show. Over its two-year run, the show had played host to numerous mirthmakers including Dermot Morgan, the Apres Match team, Jason Byrne, Tommy Tiernan, Pauline McLynn and, er, Bertie Ahern and helped refloat the career of top balladeer Ding Dong Denny O Reilly. Flags are reportedly flying at half-mast in the village of Ballyslaphappy. n