Hot Press Presents: Comedy In Solitary – Recorded In The Time of Covid-19

With grim statistics and horror stories dominating headlines, we're all well overdue a healthy dose of humour – which is why we at Hot Press are delighted to present Comedy In Solitary, featuring some of Ireland's favourite comedians performing live from lockdown.

Throughout the series, we'll be bringing you sketches from the likes of Chris Kent, Sinéad Walsh, Allie O'Rourke, James Moran, Anna Clifford, Emily Ashmore, Brian Gallagher, Roger O'Sullivan, Laura O'Mahony , Michael Rice, Thomas Howarth, Shane Clifford, Sinéad Quinlan, Richy Sheehy, Anthony Riordan and Matthew Tallon – all doing their bit to save the nation from the spiralling madness of lockdown, with videos shared on Hotpress.com daily.

Comedy In Solitary follows the success of our Hot Press Lockdown Sessions – which have provided a platform for a dazzling selection of emerging and established Irish musicians. Now we're getting Ireland's comedians in on the action – because whether it's offering a sense catharsis or distraction during these mind-bending times, there's never been a better time to embrace a good laugh.

Today, we're kicking off proceedings with a sketch from Chris Kent:

Introducing Chris Kent

Hailing from ‘The Rebel County’ (that’s Cork for anyone outside Ireland), Chris gave up the day job as an electrician to pursue his calling in comedy. He emerged onto the Irish comedy scene in 2009 after winning the Bulmers Nuttin’ But Funny competition.
In 2010 Chris made his debut at one of Ireland’s biggest comedy festivals in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens. His compelling storytelling then went on to win him the Comedy Smack Down Award at the Galway Comedy Festival later that year.
He quickly established himself on the Irish circuit and became sought out to open for some of his favourite acts, including Dylan Moran, David O’ Doherty, PJ Gallagher and Neil Delamare to name but a few.
In 2012 Chris made his debut at the prestigious Cat Laughs festival in Kilkenny.
That year, Chris brought his first solo show ‘Plugged In’ to the Edinburgh Festival, where he fell ill after contracting the mumps. This was initially diagnosed as ‘just Edinburgh’ by fellow comedians. However, the large lump on his face was later confirmed as a genuine illness, and not simply ‘all in his head’. He had to cancel two shows to avoid creating an epidemic, although he’s not sure anybody noticed…
Chris returned to Ireland with broken dreams but mump-free, to take up his seat on RTE Radio 1’s comedy panel show The Second Republic, alongside PJ Gallagher and Neil Delamare.
2013 saw him perform his second solo show ‘Second Fix’ at Edinburgh, with a full bill of health – and much healthier crowd numbers. This time he only had to cancel one show due to a delayed flight, and was delighted that people did notice (albeit they were a bit annoyed at him). He returned home that year, after a much happier Edinburgh experience, with a new UK agent.
He made his Irish television debut on New Years Eve 2013 as a panelist on RTE’s Next Year’s News.
In 2014 Chris took part in an Irish documentary The Stand Ups, which followed the lives of five Irish comedians. This gave a behind the scenes glimpse into the everyday life of a comedian, and followed Chris as he prepared for his third Edinburgh solo show ‘Corked’.
In 2015 Chris made his UK TV debut on Russell Howard’s Stand Up Central. Shortly afterwards, he moved to the UK to try and establish himself on the UK comedy scene, where he has quickly become a favourite at some of the top clubs.
He brought his fourth solo show ‘Stop Stalling’ to the Edinburgh Festival. This was hailed as “original, hilarious material, among the best acts I’ve seen in The Mirror.
He returned home after once again miscalculating his final shop and leaving behind half a bottle of shower gel and a box of cornflakes (unopened), and taking with him only resentment for the landlord that charged seven times the rent for an apartment that couldn’t possibly have been up any more stairs…
In 2016 Chris he took a break from Edinburgh, assuming that “everybody in the world would be in Rio for the Olympics” and to welcome his first child into the world. He did, however, go on to do his first Irish tour with ‘Stop Stalling’, performing to sell out crowds. It was cold.
In 2017 Chris returned to the Edinburgh Fringe with his fifth show, ‘Moving On’. He also made his acting debut appearing in the BBC hit sitcom, The Young Offenders as Conor’s Dad.
2018 saw Chris tour Ireland, doing his biggest solo show to date at The Everyman Theatre, Cork. He played Com in RTE’s ‘Women on the Verge’; and inn August he returned to the Edinburgh Fringe with his sixth solo show, ‘Looking Up‘.
He recorded his first live special in front of a sold out crowd at Cork’s Everyman Theatre. He returned to Edinburgh to do a week of work in progress shows, ducking out of the full run to become a Dad for the second time.
In January 2020, Chris returned to the Perth Fringe to work on his seventh show, ‘Christy Doesn’t Live Here’. Upon his return, he went straight into his biggest tour to date, which was going better than ever until the Coronavirus f*@ked everything up!