14 February 2012 (Comedy Preview)

Preview by: Robin Murray

After the success of last year's event, the Paddy Laughs Comedy Festival is back. The festival is all about Irish talent, fittingly as it's being held on the week of our national holiday; this years line-up includes headline acts Abandoman - a hip-hop comedy act - and Keith Farnan, the Corkonian comic who has appeared on BBC's Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow. Joining them on stage are Sue Collins, Jack Wise, Peter O'Byrne, The Craic Pack Comedy Improv and Foil, Arms and Hog. Also, 48 new comedy acts compete in the Paddy Laughs Comedy Competition. And there can only be one winner!

Kicking things off on Wednesday, 15th March is the Paddy Laughs Comedy Competition Final, which starts at 8pm. The selected finalists from the four heats (which are being held on the 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 10th of March in the Studio of Mill St Theatre - tickets €5) will battle it out, each performing a five-minute set in the hope of winning and potentially kick-starting a career in comedy.
Tickets €10 or €8 concession.

Then on Thursday the 16th, sketch comedy trio Foil, Arms and Hog will take to the stage of the Studio Space, performing hilarious pop-culture parodies. For an idea of what to expect, here's a little video they made for funnyordie.com *DISCLAIMER: Some may find offensive!* 

 At the same time the three lads are doing their thing in the Studio, the hilarious and hirsute Keith Farnan will be performing on the main stage. Keith has appeared on TV and radio in Britain and Ireland and has had great success in stand-up with all three of his Edinburgh shows still touring (including No Blacks. No Jews. No Dogs. No Irish. All Welcome!, his show about the worrying rise of racism).
Here's a little taster of the Cobh man, taken from his performance on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow in Dublin's Olympia Theatre

Also joining Farnan on stage are Sue Collins (one third of The Nualas) and Peter O'Byrne (Killinaskully's Tricky Mickey Mooney).
Show starts 8pm; tickets €12/€10.

Finally on Lá Fhéile Pádraig, The Jack Wise Children's Magic and Comedy Show will get the patriotic party going; the multi-talented Dubliner has literally performed tricks and told jokes for Ireland, becoming the only Irish winner of The World Street Performers Championship in 2010. Prepared to be awed and amused!
Show starts 3pm; tickets €8/€5.

Then, to finish the festival, musical comedy sensation Abandoman will perform. Abandoman are an Irish duo consisting of freestyling frontman, Rob Broderick and multi-instrumentalist, James Hancox. They have performed with John Bishop, Brendan Burns and Catherine Tate to name a few and have been described as "Flight of the Conchords meets 8 Mile" by chortle.co.uk.
Here's a clip of 'Ireland's seventh-biggest hip-hop crew' performing at BBC's Fun and Filth Cabaret in Edinburgh. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say, ROFL!



Abandoman will be supported by The Craic Pack comedy improv troupe. If you like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, you'll love them!
Show starts at 8pm; tickets €12/€10.

Some say Ireland is the land of a hundred-thousand welcomes; but with such a wealth of brilliant comedians, I say it's more like the land of a hundred-thousand laughs!

The Paddy Laughs Comedy Festival runs from March 15th-17th in The Mill Theatre, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 16. Tickets available right here!

 

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