Feline groovy

The Smithwicks Cat Laughs Festival this year continues the event’s tradition of attracting the finest in international comedy talent to Kilkenny. Previous line-ups have featured everyone from Bill Murray and Dan Castellaneta (the voice of one Homer J Simpson) to American Splendor star Harvey Pekar and cult comedian Rich Hall, while some of the hottest comedy performers currently on British TV, such as the Mighty Boosh’s Noel Fielding and Jimmy Carr, have also entertained the crowds in Kilkenny.

The laidback and hugely enjoyable atmosphere at Cat Laughs has undoubtedly been a key factor in the festival’s ability to attract major league comedic talent. This year is no different, with Have I Got News For You’s Paul Merton among the star attractions on the bill. The droll comedian and silent film maestro Neil Brand will be at the Watergate Theatre with Silent Clowns, an homage to the world of silent comic films. Merton will introduce his favourite Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd short films as they were originally meant to be seen, with live musical accompaniment.
Elsewhere, this year’s Brit Pack features John Bishop, Lucy Porter, Dave Johns and Michael McIntyre. Porter is a name to look out for here, having come to wider attention following a highly impressive appearance on Have I Got News For You. She has also appeared in some of the best British comedy shows of the past few years, such as Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive and the bitingly satirical Broken News, and is a highly accomplished stand-up performer.
The US contingent, meanwhile, boasts performers of the calibre of Dom Irrera, Jeff Caldwell, Stewart Francis and Reginald D Hunter. One American performer definitely worth catching is Lewis Black, noted for his ‘Back In Black’ segments on The Daily Show, where he offers his own wickedly satirical take on US current affairs. The Daily Show has given a platform to some of the best American comics of recent times, such as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, and Black – whose style is reminiscent of Bill Hicks in his heyday – is a comedian not to be missed.
The Aussies are set to make their mark in Kilkenny this year, with festival debuts from Sarah Kendall and Carl Barron, while UK newbies will include Lee Mack and Mark Watson, with Frankie Boyle jetting in from Scotland. From the US, Mike Birbiglia and Nick Griffin have the Marble City in their sights for the Wit Weekend, while Scottish stand-ups will include Fred MacAulay and Phil Kay. Other Festival hot tickets include Shappi Khorsandi, Canada’s Mike Wilmot and Steve Hughes and Adam Hills of Australia.
With such an outstanding international line-up, this year’s Smithwicks Cat Laughs promises to be one of the festival events of the year – bar none!

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
He is one of Ireland’s finest stand-up comedians – but Jason Byrne has also been rubbing shoulders with comedy superstars and building an impressive international reputation. He’s likely to be one of the big hits at this year’s Smithwicks Cat Laughs Festival.
Jason Byrne’s wild and anarchic brand of humour has seen the comedian become one of Ireland’s foremost stand-up performers, and makes him one of the star attractions at this year’s Smithwicks Cat Laughs Festival. Like many Irish comedians of his generation, Jason opted to turn his attention towards London in the ’90s, where he quickly built up an enviable array of high profile admirers.
Indeed, Jason (who was just back from performing at the Melbourne Comedy Festival when Hot Press talked to him), is soon to make an appearance on BBC panel show QI, at the request of the programme’s host, Stephen Fry.

“Funnily enough, the first and only time I was on The Late Late Show, Stephen was on too,” reflects Jason. “I was so green! How odd that I actually know him now. I seem to be making a name for myself on quizzes lately. I did The Weakest Link and Countdown, and now I’m doing QI. It’s a bit odd really as I’m not very good at quizzes.
“After The Late Late Show the next time I met Stephen was at the Hay-on-Wye Book Festival in Wales. Himself, Jon Snow and Christopher Hitchens were doing a debate on blasphemy right beside the tent I was gigging in. So they were talking away and there I was effing and blinding in the background!”
Jason also recently made an appearance on Russell Brand’s MTV chat show.
“I knew Russell from interviewing him a couple of years ago,” he explains. “Then I interviewed him again at the Amnesty Secret Policeman’s Ball, and we also had him as a guest when I did a podcast at the Edinburgh Festival. After that, he went (does eerily accurate Brand impression) ‘Alright Jason, my lovey-dovey, wanna do my show?’ He talks like that all the time, by the way. I met his Dad too and he’s the same! But Russell’s a lovely bloke.”
An appearance at the Smithwicks Cat Laughs Festival will hold no terrors for Jason. He’s something of a veteran of comedy festivals at this stage, and last summer he presented his own series of podcasts at the Edinburgh Fringe, where his guests included not only Brand, but also Ben Elton, Mark Steel and Ricky Gervais’ writing partner, Stephen Merchant.
“The way Stephen speaks is no different at all to his character in Extras,” chuckles Jason. “He talks in a very nonchalant and throwaway manner, but he’s so funny, and very intelligent. I actually met him at the Secret Policeman’s Ball and interviewed him, and we kept in contact. He subsequently came to see one of my shows in London, but he couldn’t stay, cos he gets a lot of hassle now on the back of Extras. And of course he did the podcasts with Ricky, which were massively popular.”
Jason was also inadvertently responsible for Shaun Of The Dead/Hot Fuzz star Simon Pegg getting his first big break.
“When I first came to London, Simon and I had the same agent and he kind of guided me through the comedy scene,” Jason explains. “I was staying with Graham Linehan at the time, and I was playing a gig with Simon one night which Graham and Arthur Mathews came along to. They loved the look of him, and cast him in Hippies.
“Then they cast him again in Big Train, and on the back of that he got the money to do Spaced. Then Spaced led to Shaun Of The Dead. After Spaced we kind of lost contact, but the next time I ran into him was in Kentish Town. Himself and Nick Frost were sitting in an MG sports car with the top down, both of them having a McDonald’s. Then I pulled up beside them and said, ‘Alright lads’. They were like, ‘Oh my God, Jay, how are you doing?’ Then Simon said, ‘By the way, thanks for bringing Graham to that gig!’”

THIS JOKE GOES UP TO ELEVEN
The heavy metal-loving Steve Hughes was one of the highlights of last year’s Smithwicks Cat Laughs festival. He’s coming back to treat us to even more high volume comedy.
Australian comic Steve Hughes made a sensational festival debut at last year’s Smithwick’s Cat Laughs. He was positively electric, immediately winning over the Kilkenny crowd with his unique raconteur style and lovable Aussie charm.

Hughes soon had the audience in hysterics. “The War on Terror?” he half-shouted. “What next? The War on Horror? Quick, get the Goths! You can stick as many of those as you want in Guantanamo Bay but you still won’t get them to wear orange.”
Hughes has only been doing stand-up since 2002 but has already garnered a reputation as one of the sharpest comedians around. Two years ago he moved to Manchester to concentrate on the UK circuit. “I was always a bit of a miserable, head-banging goth and sunshine used to piss me off to be honest,” he reveals. “Most people like it, but if you get it 24/7 see how much you like it!”
Before the Manchester move, Hughes spent a year living in Dublin where, in accordance with his goth tendencies, he was a temporary drummer with the prolific Skerries heavy metal band Primordial.
“It’s difficult to make a career out of heavy metal,” Hughes says, of his first love. “Even in Europe it’s hard, though there’s a much better touring set-up here than there is in Australia. I’ve been in lots of bands over the years and I loved being in Slaughter Lord and Primordial. But I found being in bands became increasingly difficult.
“In comedy, at least it’s just you,” he adds. “Comedy allows you to be creative without having a democracy about creativity.”
Steve’s first gig was in the International’s Comedy Cellar, where so many comic legends popped their stand-up cherry. “I always figured that if I could make the Scots and the Irish laugh, I’d be doing alright,” he says. “I even played a gig in Ballinasloe. I’m not sure if any other Australian comedian has even been near there.”
The straight talking, beer-drinking Antipodean can’t wait to get back to Kilkenny this year. “Edinburgh is a big festival and hard bloody work, whereas Kilkenny is just fantastic,” he says. “You can do two or three gigs a day and they’re all packed out. They give you somewhere nice to stay and you’re paid for it. All your mates are there and the crowds are good.
“You really couldn’t ask for more.”
WE LOVE LUCY
English stand-up comic Lucy Porter talks to Paul Nolan about working with Caroline Ahern and Christian Slater, appearing on Have I Got News For You – and why Cat Laughs is “the best comedy festival in the world”.
Lucy Porter has quietly amassed a highly impressive CV over the past few years, appearing on excellent shows like Have I Got News For You, Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive and rolling news parody Broken News. An accomplished solo performer, Lucy has previously visited the Smithwicks Cat Laughs Festival in her capacity as a stand-up comedian.

“Everybody says that Cat Laughs is the best comedy festival in the world,” she enthuses. “The atmosphere is so much nicer and more relaxed. It’s just generally a funnier experience as well – it’s where comedians come to play and really have some fun.”
Interestingly, before making the move into stand-up, Lucy began her career as a researcher on The Mrs. Merton Show.
“It was interesting to see how the show evolved from the beginning,” she says, “because nobody knew what it was. My job was booking the celebrity guests to come on, and none of them had heard of it and they were all pretty nervous.
“I’ll always be grateful to people like Debbie McGee, because I begged and pleaded and in the end she took the chance of coming on a new show. It was really good fun and Caroline Ahern was lovely. I definitely wouldn’t have done comedy if I hadn’t been working on the show and around funny people. It inspired me to do stand-up.”
Lucy is also a talented actress, and indeed has performed in a West End production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest with Christian Slater.
“I only had three lines!” she laughs. “It was a tiny part but great fun. I played Nurse Flynn, who was a mousy Irish nurse. Her first line was about how she’d just been at midnight mass. It was kind of a buzz, doing six months in the West End, living the life of an actor and doing very little work. Christian Slater was great, he was a down-to-earth bloke. He’d come hang out with the rest of us and have a laugh.”
Lucy also has fond memories of working on Broken News, the satirical series which did for Sky News what The Day Today did for Newsnight.
“I felt a bit fortunate with Broken News,” she acknowledges, “because it was written by Tony Roche and John Morton, two very talented guys. Tony also wrote for The Thick Of It and did World Of Pub on BBC2, which will be a rediscovered classic in years to come. I liked the way the show was written – it had proper jokes in it, and it was great fun to do.”
Lucy has also appeared in Rob Brydon’s panel show satire Annually Retentive, as well as guesting on the most famous panel show of them all, Have I Got News For You.
“It was pretty nervewracking,” she admits. “When Have I Got News For You started, I was quite young, and certainly didn’t think I’d ever be on it. While I’d hesitate to describe them as laddish, a lot of panel programmes are a bit more aggressive. Have I Got News For You isn’t like that, even though you’d imagine it would be.
“Ian Hislop and Paul Merton were very friendly. Anne Widdecombe hosted the show that I did, which made me even more nervous, because I thought she’d absolutely hate me. And she did, but it still went great!”

The IRISH INVASION
Ireland’s leading comedians are desending on Kilkenny for the Smithwick’s Cat Laughs Festival
It goes without saying that the cream of Irish comedy talent will be appearing at Smithwicks Cat Laughs. Except that this year’s line-up is positively bursting with major names – in fact you’d be hard pressed to find a leading light who isn’t going to be there! Key names include (amongst many others) Tommy Tiernan, Ardal O’Hanlon, Maeve Higgins, Ed Byrne, Andrew Maxwell, Neil Delamere, Dara O Briain, Jason Byrne, David O’Doherty, Barry Murphy and Des Bishop.
One event hotpress is particularly looking forward to is the Cat Laughs Improv at the Watergate Theatre. In addition to Tara Flynn, Steve Steen and Ian Coppinger, a notable name to look out for at this event is Steve Frost. Frost honed his improvisational skills on Whose Line Is It Anyway alongside masters of the craft such as Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie, and is a wonderful live performer. Comedy fans may also remember his memorable appearance as a stentorian firing squad captain on the brilliant Blackadder Goes Forth.
Add in Comedy Cats performers like Eleanor Tiernan, Aidan Bishop, Dermot McMorrow, Andrew Stanley and Paddy Courtney, and the Smithwicks Cat Laughs Festival 2007 looks like being the best yet.