I had exactly 12 belly-laughs at the Galway Comedy Festival last Easter weekend. I’m talking flat-out roaring laughter which would have included tears, were I not so dehydrated from the incessant partying. That’s an impressive return considering I went to nine gigs, two of which I performed in.
So here is my hit parade of comedy from this year’s festival.
At number five: David McSavage, a comedian equally loved and loathed (often by himself). In Club Cuba on Easter Sunday he provided the funniest moment of physical humour I have seen in years when he had a full-blown fight with the mic stand. He can be such a pain in the arse, but at times he is touched by genius.
At number four: Harman Leon – Infiltrator. This San Francisco native has mastered the ability to lie his way onto US reality TV shows. His performance at Bar 8 exposed the shallowness at the base of American TV, but was never sermonising. Harman is no preacher, he’s a prankster. When he wangled his way onto a big money game show, he intended to be the most boring contestant ever. Unfortunately, he turned out to be the smartest guy in the room and won thousands. And yes, he whooped it up like the rest of them. The belly laugh came when he performed some slapstick at the start of the show, dressed as a bear and ejaculating honey. Maybe I’m easily pleased…
Number three: Diet of Worms. This goofy bunch of sketch performers from Dublin have really got something. It’s not always slick, but it is clever and frequently hilarious. The spot-on impression of some Tom Cruise control freakery had the Roisin Dubh in hysterics. “Get me a black coffee with plenty of milk” was the line of the night, but their ‘sperm race’ came a close second.
Number two: Rich Hall. Mr. Hall played the Black Box, a municipal venue resembling an aircraft hanger, but without the warmth or atmosphere. It was a pretty full house for a Good Friday gig, but, then again, the bar was open. Hall performed as himself in the first half and after the interval as the country/blues legend Otis Lee Crenshaw. Best line: “People remember one thing about a politician, be it freeing the slaves, spunk on a dress or shooting your partner in the face.”
Straight in at Number One: Help – a 40-minute play written and performed by the Tiernan cousins, Niamh and Eleanor. And yes, being funny does run in the family. This theatrical outing, getting its premiere at this festival, is properly wickedly comical. It’s an excellent concept. Niamh stands alone on stage as the play begins, telling us she doesn’t really exist, just a figment of Eleanor’s imagination. Meanwhile, Eleanor is a successful stand-up who has just won a huge prize at the Edinburgh festival. There is a slight blurring of reality here, as Eleanor is a stand-up in real life, supporting Tommy on his Bovinity tour.
As an exploration of a performer’s ego, this piece is truly on the money. As an aspiring comic I cringed at more than one moment of self-recognition.
Help should tour every comedy festival in the world, capturing as it does the fragile mix of confidence, vanity, neediness and talent which forms the make-up of every comedian. The writing is crisp and polished, the actors superb and the laughs plentiful. Eleanor Tiernan is far and away the best comic actress I have seen on stage. She can wring a laugh from the briefest of glances. Her timing is exquisite. At times the volume of audience laughter threatened to destabilise the entire show, but both actresses coped admirably. I swear I’m grinning right now as I remember it.
Overall then, a great little festival, although I can’t really be too cruel because I performed at it. Nevertheless there were a few bloopers.
Rick Shapiro’s stories of blowing guys for heroin money caused a bit of a walkout from the unsuspecting bank holiday Monday afternoon crowd – what’s wrong with people?
The superbly talented Simon Munnery had the latter end of his set ruined by thumping bass in Club Cuba – some decorum wouldn’t haven’t gone astray.
The sponsors Carlsberg could take a leaf from Kilkenny’s book and decorate the town a little, promoting both themselves and this fine event at the same time. This is a young festival, only a few years old, but it is still off the radar for a lot of people. Let the public know what’s happening. Tell the world about it. And on that note – Sunday afternoon’s Stand Up Show Down at the Roisin Dubh was a hotly-contested affair, fought out between 16 brilliant comedians including Eric Lawlor, Fred Cooke, Robbie Bonham, John Capliss and Bob Hennigan. The ultimate winners, who shared first prize, richly deserved it. They were Sharon Mannion and, ahem, me.