Paths to glory

It’s quite possible that if you look up the word “charmer” in the dictionary, you’ll find Deirdre O’Kane’s picture by way of definition. Sequestered away in a corner of the Westbury fulfilling promotional duties for her upcoming Irish tour, the Dundalk born comedienne deals expertly with the succession of quote-hungry journos lining up to interview her.

When Hot Press’ turn arrives, O’Kane has just completed an impromptu photo-shoot outside. Resplendent in knee-length leather jacket, with a pair of sunglasses perched atop her head, she shows little signs of press junket fatigue, and proves to be both a wonderful raconteur and as humorous an interviewee as one could have hoped for.
O’Kane made the leap to stand-up in 1996, despite having already forged a promising acting career. Citing the constrictive nature of the Irish theatre scene as the main reason for change, she has since become one of the most successful comedians in the country. However, towards the end of last year, she resurrected the double-hander sketch-show ‘Tis Pity She’s Anonymous for her run at the Olympia. Was this at all indicative that she still occasionally pines for her theatre days?
“I do miss it,” Deirdre affirms. “I think what I miss most are the technical challenges, the different skills required to fully flesh out the part. The odd TV and film role aside, I’ve basically been doing just stand-up for the past five years now. And what really got the acting juices flowing again was the part I played in Intermission, a film coming out in September. I suppose the role people most tend to associate me with is in Paths To Freedom, but I was a straight actress for ten years before I ever did any stand-up.”
O’Kane’s plunge into the deeply uncertain world of comedy was doubly brave when you consider that whenever the pantheon of great comics is discussed – from Richard Pryor and Bill Hicks to Jerry Seinfeld and Billy Connolly – it is invariably a boys-only club. Are there any female comedians she considers an inspiration?
“Unfortunately, no,” Deirdre sighs. “I went to the Montreal festival last summer and I desperately wanted to see Janeane Garofalo. She was doing her show the night after I left and I was devastated that I couldn’t stay. Unfortunately, I’ve heard very mixed things since about her stand-up, although I do think she’s a fantastic actress. I mean, there are plenty of female comics around who I admire, but there’s no one who I could point to as being an Eddie Izzard – you know, someone who’s just totally inspirational.”
There was plenty of inspiration to be found in Paths To Freedom, the acclaimed RTE mockumentary which saw O’Kane brilliantly essay the part of Helen, the terminally bored, wine-swilling upper middle-class housewife expiring in suburbia.
“I think Paths To Freedom was as good as it gets,” Deirdre reflects. “First of all, when someone comes to you with a good script, that’s a very rare thing for a start. And when they say, ‘We want you to do this’ – not ‘We want you to come and audition’, and also, ‘We’re going to improvise every single scene’, that’s all music to my ears.”
It’s not merely coincidence that has seen her involved with a good proportion of the finest TV/radio/film produced in Ireland over the past decade – she is quite simply one of the best actresses around. Still, she remains grateful for the breaks she’s had, and typically of her upbeat take on life, was even able to find a silver lining during a particularly trying time in her career last summer.
“The Montreal Festival was a bit of nightmare for me,” she recalls, visibly shuddering at the memory. “They flew me over to do two shows, on Monday and Tuesday, and of course nobody goes out on those nights. I was part of a show with three other Irish acts, and we were billed as the ‘O’Comics’ for Christ’s sake! Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was really in the gutter with depression over how things went, just devastated.
“So I thought I’d travel into town and buy some shoes as sort of retail therapy. And who should I meet as I’m coming out of the shop, only Billy Connolly. I approached him and said, ‘I’ve wanted to meet you my whole life’. I told him I was a comic and I that I was here for the festival, and he asks, ‘So how are things going for you?’ So there I was at my lowest ebb ever, and I basically just smiled and said, ‘Grand!’
“But the amazing thing was that when I was checking in at the airport, who was getting on the same flight as me? Billy Connolly. So we walked down to the plane together, and as he was going off into first class, I said – and this was the only laugh I got in Montreal – ‘You do realise that if this plane goes down, I’m not going to be mentioned at all. I’ll
be the Richie Valens to your Buddy Holly!’”

Deirdre O’Kane plays Vicar St. on May 1, 2 and 4. The latter show will also double as a benefit gig for the Fiona Bradley Foundation