Top cats

Peter Kay

Hailing from Bolton, Lancashire this genial Northener first came to our attention in 1997 when his stand-up show garnered much media attention including a Perrier nomination and the prestigious Channel 4 So You Think You’re Funny award. Since then Peter has penned several TV series including That Peter Kay Thing and the seminal Phoenix Nights, a second series of which is to be broadcast shortly. Live, Kay relates tales of his coming-of-age that are both hilarious and brilliantly observed. His Soft Cell ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’ bit is a classic.

Deirdre O’Kane

Currently in poll position as the hardest working woman in show business Deirdre has managed to combine a TV role in RTE’s Fergus’ Wedding with a multiude of stage appearances in various guises and award-presenting duties at various high-brow bashes. She’s also managed to write an entirely new stand-up show which she premiers at this year’s Cat Laughs. The bit about getting pissed in America is a blast. Unconfirmed rumours allege that Deirdre O’Kane is, in fact, twins.

Best Of Irish Improv

The International Bar’s Improv team make their first ever appearance en-semble at Kilkenny. Sworn enemies of Laughlines (due to our habit of arriving at their gigs drunk and subsquently mis-quoting them in print) we nevertheless unhesitatingly recommend them as the finest Improv act we’ve ever seen. And we’ve seen a few. Plus, that Michelle Read really butters our anchovy toast, in a Mallory Towers’ Hall Monitor kind of a way.

Dara O’Brian

In a comedy circuit renowned for its gentlemen Dara O’Brian might well top the poll if Irish comedy audiences were asked to vote for their favourite nice guy. As well as touring extensively in the UK, Australia and the USA he’s also rumoured to be contemplating a TV comeback with the RTE quiz show Family Affair, a show that, despite its title, in no way deals with incest issues. Live, Dara’s dry take on contemporary living is a revelation, sarcastic yet cathartic. Trying saying that after a couple of pints of Murphys.

Kitty Flanagan

A native of Melbourne, Australia, this is the aptly named Kitty’s first visit to Kilkenny. Her stand-up show Flannossuers has already been awarded four stars at the Melbourne comedy festival and with a name like hers it’s doubtless that her material will strike a chord on the heart-strings of Irish audiences.

Colin Murphy

Most recently seen on Xit Poll as the only Irishman on TV deserving of anybody’s vote, Colin shot to fame as the presenter of Blizzard Of Odd, taking an incredulous look at some classic moments from film and television’s darkest hours. Live, however, he leaves the remote control at home and concentrates

on the banalities of modern bachelorhood, with a trip to a lap-dancing club thrown in for good measure.

Bill Bailey

Bill Bailey is the one-time musician who gave up a life of Rolling Stone covers, groupies and Class A substances for a career in comedy, if my research team has it right. “That’s bollox.” says Bill. “I was in a band in the ‘80s called The Famous Five. We were quite enigmatic. As a statement, like Adam Ant’s Geronimo stripe or Michael Jackson’s glove we all painted one finger black but it never took off. We just looked as if we’d caught our fingers in the van door. But then one bloke left and The Famous Four didn’t have quite the same ring to it.”

As an ex-punk he’s pleased with the re-emergence of the form in recent months but what are his top five punk singles of all-time? “Easy. ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ by The Buzzcocks, ‘Rock The Casbah’ by The Clash, ‘Once In A Lifetime’ by Talking Heads, ‘West One (Shine On Me) by The Ruts, and, uh, another Clash one, ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’.”

He’s played Kilkenny before but is he looking forward to this year’s festival?

“Well I’ve done several gigs in Ireland recently,” says Bill, “in Armagh and Donegal so I’ve managed to come up with enough material for a brand-new show. Ireland’s that sort of place, very inspiring. It’s the only country I’ve ever come across where the surreal is seen as totally normal.” He should fit right in, so…