GILDEA AS CHARGED

I first discovered Kevin Gildea as an atrociously incompetent acrobat in the company of Barry Murphy, Dermot Carmody and Ardal O'Hanlon at the International Comedy Cellar in the late 'eighties. It was a heady time for Irish comedy, as punters discovered that we had acts within our midst that could play on our fascination with UK acts like the Young Ones and Alexei Sayle, and add to that a unique skewed vision that was uniquely Irish. Those of us who before had to make do with a diet of albums by Lenny Bruce, Billy Connolly and the Python Crew suddenly realised that we had access to talents that were just as funny. Gildea and his cohorts opened the door which enabled talents like Brendan Dempsey, Jason Byrne and Tommy Tiernan to tickle our fancies.

Gildea doesn't remember the name of the acrobatic troupe.

"Was it The Barzini Brothers?" he ponders. "I can't honestly remember. Actually, I think they were the Hothouse Flowers busking outfit, weren't they? They were probably funnier."

Gildea returns to HQ for a series of performances in February and March under the Guff! @ HQ banner, accompanied by old partner-in-comedy Barry Murphy, and newer International talents like Mark Doherty and David O'Doherty. But what about The Kevin Gildeas, a musical confederation featuring the man himself and collaborators Dr Millar and Tom Dunne?

"Well, Tom Dunne isn't doing the HQ shows, since he's got something else on, but we will have a drummer on the night, rest assured. I found myself in London during the nineties with material that I didn't feel comfortable with incorporating into a standard stand-up set. It didn't quite fit, and at the suggestion of Dr Millar I decided to incorporate a musical element into the shows. Barry will be doing his German character thing and Mark and Dave are also doing a musical number which we won't have seen before… I'd describe it as comedy with a punk energy and some cool beats! It works, it's funny, it's got a punk attitude, and anyway I've always had a musical background. I grew up around music - my father played the spoons…"

He sighs heavily when I ask about musical influences.

"I'm sorry but I hate 'phone interviews." he says helpfully. "I'm a big fan of David Holmes, My Bloody Valentine, Marvin Gaye, Tom Waits… I dunno, what are you asking me?"

Interview rapidly going down the tubes, I strike out for more familiar ground. What led to his return to Ireland after years as a successful stand-up, writer and actor in London?

"Initially, I moved to London in the mid-nineties because I had been involved in projects that never happened because of a lack of breaks… Despite the success of Trellis nobody in Ireland was picking up on what we were doing, so it seemed that London was the place that I could pursue a real career. I found the experience to be both liberating and exhilarating, and there was a dynamic there that enabled me to hone my stand-up stuff to a degree that I hadn't done in Dublin. This was pre-Fr Ted, and there was a bit of a wave of Irish comedians including Ardal, Dermot and myself who were doing something subtly different than local British acts. Maybe it was the accent, or the turn of phrase; a quirkiness or a charm that came naturally to us. Also we were familiar with the dictionary, which helped, I suppose…"

Gildea prospered in London, not only becoming an established regular on the expanding stand-up circuit, but also branching out into writing for BBC radio and TV. His acting work has included, perhaps inevitably, Fr Ted and also a part in the feature film Separation Anxiety. His decision to return to Dublin he puts down to a simple case of missing friends and wanting to work with like-minded talents again.

"I'd always visited home regularly and I'm impressed with the way things have developed. Audiences are more aware and the talent that's emerging is fantastic. Plus there's that thing about home that stops you completely vanishing up your own arse."

Gildea also confesses to a self-consciousness that has sometimes plagued him. How does he reconcile that with the incredible nerve that stand-up demands?

"I can only say that I need to do it, and I can do it, and I'm good at doing it, but yeah…I've always enjoyed writing and telling stories, rhymes or whatever. It's an urge to express yourself, and to simply make people laugh and get off on that. Plus, it's a creative need where you think of stuff that makes you laugh and you get a kick out of sharing that."

It's unusual for a comic to confess so openly to nerves.

"Initially when I started with Mr Trellis I took the Dutch Courage option and would often have a couple before I went on. Eventually you get used to doing that and it can smooth out a bumpy road, but it's ultimately not a very productive way to work. Though it gives you some interesting experiences to draw on, it tends to eat into the next day a bit; drinking a lot takes time. Ultimately I gave it a rest for a year and a bit, though as I say, I banked a few usable memories during those years."

So is he still off the drink?

"No, I'm not. In fact I'm looking forward to a large whiskey just as soon as you finish this fucking interview…"

The Kevin Gildeas play HQ on Sunday, February 4th and Sunday, March 4th at HQ, Abbey St, Dublin.