Mum's The Word

Colm O’Regan debuts Ireland’s Got Mammies in Co. Tipp this fortnight. The show is basically a live version of the Cork comedian’s Twitter account @irishmammies and subsequent book, both of which spout wonderful gems of mammy-ish wisdom.

Our faves are, “Wasn’t I thinking The Pope looked fairly shook at Christmas alright”.... “The bed is the only answer. Off with you now and I’ll call you for the supper”.... and, “The little fella arrived in with a Brigid’s Cross for me... It’s good to see they’re learning some bit of religion in That School”. If we didn’t know better, we’d swear our own mammy had finally succumbed and joined... ‘The Twitter’. Catch O’Regan in a live setting at the show’s maiden voyage in the Source Arts Centre, Tipperary (March 8). Get your mitts on his book at colmoregan.com.

Meanwhile, one Mr. Thomas Tiernan Esq. is back for another ‘world tour’, and this time, he’s got his sights set firmly on… Tyrone! The pride of Navan visits Mellon County Hotel (March 7) and Bardic Theatre (10), but, popular man that he is – Tommy’s simultaneously touring Stray Sod – at Ulster Hall, Belfast (9, 13) and Vicar St. (14).
Neil Delamere is also a busy bee this fortnight. The Panel star brings Dela Mere Mortal to Carlow’s George Bernard Shaw Theatre (1), Mullingar Arts Centre (2), Burnavon Arts Centre, Tyrone (7) and Cork Opera House (9). A reflection on getting older, the show sees the comic picking through his teenage years, and features some hilarious footage of him competing on that most sacred of ‘90s Irish institutions; Blackboard Jungle.
Something a bit different next – How Much Is That Woman In The Window? is the brainchild of Keith Farnan, and runs in Dublin’s Project Arts Centre on March 6, 8 and 9. A thoughtful and satirical commentary on the connotations of the word ‘feminist’, Farnan examines “whether we value women – or simply put a value on them”, looking at socio-cultural phenomenon like push-up bras being marketed to seven-year-olds (jaysus), and ‘Belle du Jour’ – the concept of a specifically ‘high-class’ escorting.

BEST OF THE REST
Also this fortnight, Dubliner Brendan Grace heads to the Waterfront, Belfast on February 28, Mill Theatre, Dublin (March 1, 2); Riverbank Arts Centre, Kildare (5, 6); Strule Arts Centre, Tyrone (13); Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre, Armagh (14); and the Burnavon Arts Centre, Tyrone (15), while Pat Shortt visits Tullamore Court Hotel (2) and Riverside Park Hotel, Wexford (9).
Andrew Maxwell visits Vicar St. (8), while Al Murray is there the next night (9). Foil, Arms & Hog play the Mill Theatre, Dublin (14), and David O’Doherty visits Draiocht, Dublin (1).