Triple Entendre

Bloody noses, crash cymbals and Frankie Boyle. It’s all in a day’s work for sketch comedy heroes Foil, Arms and Hog.

Dave Hanratty, 11 Apr 2012

Sketch-based humour is arguably the runt of the live comedy circuit litter, its quirky structure perhaps more suited to television, where quickfire edits and canned laughter can help get the joke over. In the live arena, solo stand-up turns tend to rule the roost under the spotlight, and while sketch comedy enjoys its fair share of laughs from the gallery, it wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that those cackles are generally easier to draw by donning a persona with a pre-existing fanbase, such as Steve Coogan’s brilliant Alan Partridge or the many impressions of Mario Rosenstock.

Energetic Irish troupe Foil, Arms and Hog seem to thrive on the added pressure of facing audience preconceptions, their brand of onstage hijinks winning over crowds at home and abroad. Innovative, unpredictable and interactive – heckles aren’t feared and are actively encouraged – the Dublin-based trio are fully aware that their chosen brand of mirth isn’t for everyone.

“It does have a strange reputation,” admits Sean ‘Hog’ Flanagan, so nicknamed after his penchant for thieving the best characters and jokes for himself, a trait he gleefully admits still exists. “People are like, ‘Oh, sketch comedy? That’s just some English prats on stage in period costumes using really long words in really long sentences… no thanks!’ But it’s not that! At least not how we do it.”

Flanagan’s appreciation for comedy came not as a result of staying up late to watch comedians on TV but rather as a defence mechanism to ward off school bullies. While quick to dismiss the notion that stand-up is a form of therapy for those who practice the art, he concedes that he possesses something of a mean streak.

“My own style of humour is maybe a little bit more dark than the other two guys,” he laughs. “I’m probably the violent, sexualised and harsh comedian of the group. Maybe I’m the Frankie Boyle? There’s a bit of Frankie Boyle in all of us really. He rears his ugly head from time to time.”

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