Your fortnight ahead in comedy: Sean Lock

Surrey stand-up Sean Lock brings the intriguingly-titled Purple Van Man to Dublin’s Olympia for two shows this fortnight (May 21, 22). Or not so intriguingly, as it turns out…

“It’s about nothing!” he explained to HP’s Roisin Dwyer last month. “I don’t think I have ever seen a stand-up show that effectively has a narrative – maybe one or two. They're just normally a collection of routines or jokes. I thought Purple Van Man was a great idea, but I have had a few people come up to me at shows who say they've enjoyed it but don’t get the title…. I don’t own a purple van, there is no material in there about purple vans!”

If nothing else, we admire his honesty. Also Olympia-bound this fortnight is Oliver Callan. The Monaghan satirist rose to fame in the noughties when his Nob Nation show aired on RTÉ Radio. A talented impressionist, Callan voiced all the show’s characters, including former Taoiseach Brian Cowen and, teehee, Dame Enda (aka Mr. Kenny in drag). The show wasn’t without its controversy however; Callan’s 2008 impersonations of Eamon Dunphy and David Norris resulted in a warning from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, who deemed his performances “offensive to homosexuals” and “promoting binge drinking.” Ironic, since Callan is in fact openly gay and we are – in fairness – a nation of chronically repressed binge drinkers. Sadface. Catch Callan in the Olympia (May 11) and the INEC, Killarney (18). Elsewhere, 51 Shades Of Maggie continues its mammoth run. The spoof play stars Leah MacRae as Maggie Muff and can be seen for 11 nights in Dublin’s Tivoli Theatre (May 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23). The trash-tastic Trailer Park Boys will visit the Olympia (9), while the n-word spouting scurge of professional footballers Reginald D. Hunter heads north for a show at the Millenium Forum,
Derry (23).

BEST OF THE REST
Aidan Bishop: Riverbank Arts Centre, Kildare (17), Jon Kenny: Linenhall Arts Centre, Mayo (16), Neil Delamere: Spirit Store, Dundalk (19), Draiocht, Dublin (23), Andrew Maxwell: Theatre at the Mill, Newtownabbey (10).