This year's Dublin Fringe Festival has a wealth of comedy acts lined up with new shows and new experiences, just for you.

Comedians like Alison Spittle, Joanne McNally, Tony Cantwell and Shane Clifford are all set to perform in this year's Dublin Fringe Festival, as well as many more cabaret acts and shows on the way.

Here's our five recommendations if you're looking for a laugh.

 

5. 'MOTHER OF GOD' BY ALISON SPITTLE

Previews 7 September / €11

8 - 13 September / €16 or €14 conc./ Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle

By the show's own description, 'Mother of God' looks to be pretty blasphemous to say the least. "It’s 2001, the world has changed irreparably and somewhere in the middle of Ireland a girl fights for the meaty role of Mary of Nazareth in the school nativity." Spittle's comedy has always taken in her hometown of Ballymore, Co. Westmeath and 'Mother of God' takes her childhood into strange, new directions - all for comedy gold.

 

4. 'DREAMGUN FILM READS STRIKES BACK' BY DREAMGUN

17 - 21 September / €16 or €14 conc. / Smock Alley Theatre

After their sell-out, award-winning and critically acclaimed run last year, Dreamgun strike back with a whole new lineup of film reads for you to binge at Fringe. Classic film scripts, rewritten with jokes and nonsense, read by unprepared comedians. Each performance sees a difference movie deliciously skewered, including such classics as 'Die Hard', 'Goldeneye', 'Back To The Future', 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory'.

 

3. 'THE PROSECCO EXPRESS' BY JOANNE MCNALLY

Previews 10 September / €11

11 - 15 September / €16 or €14 conc. / Smock Alley Theatre

Joanne is lost, not physically, she knows exactly where she is, she’s in Dublin. But adopted at six months old, she has no real sense of who she is. What Joanne doesn’t realise is once she opens that big, strange door she can't close it again. Mainly because she’s double jointed in both hands, and while we’re on the topic, whose fault is that? Joanne is on a mission to find out how DNA and destiny works, and now so are you.

 

2. 'IN ONE EYE, OUT THE OTHER' BY TADHG HICKEY

Previews 7 September / €11

9 - 11 September, 13 - 14 September/ €13 or €11 conc. / The Workman's Club Vintage Room

The first solo comedy show from Tadhg Hickey (CCCahoots) introduces you to Feargal; a downtrodden but cheery man who fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming an alcoholic. Using the Catholic calendar as a roadmap, Feargal leads us on a surreal and hilarious journey with many poignant twists in the hope of arriving at a sort of light at the end of the tunnel.

1. 'RESSERECSHANE' BY SHANE CLIFFORD

Previews 9 September / €11

10 - 14 September / €13 and €11 conc. / The International Bar

Shane Clifford, by his own words, went from being a modern-day hermit to becoming a stand-up comedian and all it took was a near-death experience for that to happen. Dark, honest and absurd but always funny, join Shane for a new hour of comedy that explores mental health, male body image and the perils of retail management.

 

For more information and to explore the full programme, go to fringefest.com.