Review of the Week: Smithwick's Cat Laughs Comedy Festival * * * *
(Kilkenny)
LAUGHING GEAR: Russell Howard proved his comedy potential at the Kilkenny festival
Friday June 06 2008
Eddie Izzard once said that he didn't think stand-up comedy clubs would flourish in Ireland as they do in the UK simply because Irish people don't need to buy a ticket to be entertained.
While we might not have a comedy circuit to rival the UK's, we've gladly embraced the concept of a comedy festival. The Cat Laughs event has been tickling our funny bones each and every Whit weekend in the Marble City since 1995. The 14th festival mightn't necessarily have boasted many household names, but it did feature oodles of quality.
An accusation sometimes levelled at the festival in recent years is that there is a slight over-reliance on many of the same names. However, no less than 12 festival debutants joined this year's cast, including three acts who proved themselves to be bona fide greats; Russell Howard, Danny Bhoy and Andrew Lawrence.
Howard is one of the most popular emergent comics in the world. Renowned for his improvisational skills, the Bristolian was the sole English comic selected for the prestigious Montreal Just for Laughs show. His energetic and original appearance in Langton's proves why.
Similarly likeable is the Indian-Scottish comedian Danny Bhoy, who appears to provoke more real belly laughter in the crowd. His material on rapper 50 Cent is priceless, especially when he uses it as a means to send up his own stage name.
This year's dark horse was Andrew Lawrence, who is quite possibly the strangest and most original new comedian on the block. The ginger comic possesses one the weirdest speaking voices in comedy and his material is dark and more than a bit twisted, but irresistibly funny.
The same can't be said for all the festival debuts. The much-hyped Josie Long is a disappointment. Her routine lacks any material of substance and her wide-eyed enthusiasm becomes irritating rather than enjoyable.
Much has been made of Tommy Tiernan mentioning Madeleine McCann on Friday night. Both Sean Hughes and Patrick Kielty have already gone down this road, making the subsequent tabloid frenzy rather ridiculous. Tiernan made no mention of the offensive gag at the show I caught on the Saturday. He was as entertaining as ever, but Howard's fresher material impressed me more.
Sunday afternoon's football match between Irish comedians and "the Rest of the World" becomes a bigger attraction every year. The loudspeaker system adds some crowd noise and Karl Spain's hilarious commentary made it a great event. Fortunately, we were also blessed with smashing weather for the spectators.
Incidentally, Ireland won 4-2, securing the Cat's Cup and the only bit of silverware this country will see in the foreseeable future. The finest Irish comedian, both on and off the pitch, was David O'Doherty. His appearance at Hotel Kilkenny alongside Dom Irrera, Andrew Lawrence and Barry Murphy, was utterly superb on what was possibly the golden line-up of the festival.
On Sunday, three of Ireland's best comics reunited. Barry Murphy, Ardal O'Hanlon and Kevin Gildea formed Mr Trellis in 1988, and are widely accredited with being massively influential, setting the scene for the current generation of comedians. Their hour-long show was weird and wonderful; an inimitable brand of surreal sketches and sheer malarkey flew by in what seemed like 10 minutes.It's a fitting end to a superb day of comedy.
Of the 20 or so acts I caught over the weekend, the vast majority was thoroughly entertaining and satisfying. The general standard of performance surpassed last year's event. I can't think of a better way to start the summer. n
