All Right On The Mike

It’s been non-stop for McIntyre over the last couple of years. As well as embarking on a number of hugely successful tours (Live And Laughing was the fastest-selling debut stand-up DVD ever), the Londoner has found time to appear on the likes of Mock The Week, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, and of course, he flexed his judging muscle on one of Simon Cowell’s 17 million reality shows, Britain’s Got Talent. This tour of Ireland and Britain will see him visit 11 cities over 58 dates, with two stop-offs in Dublin’s O2, on November 16 and 17.

McIntyre’s not the only visitor from across the pond, mind. Jimmy Carr brings his Laughter Therapy show to the Waterfront Auditorium on November 4 and Derry’s Millenium Forum (5), while the brilliant Reginald D. Hunter is Waterfront-bound on November 17.
If you prefer your comedy a little more, shall we say - ‘nordie-flavoured’, The History Of The Troubles (Accordin’ To My Da) runs in Tyrone’s Strule Arts Centre this fortnight. A collaboration between playright Martin Lynch and comedians Conor Grimes and Alan McKee, this play is set in Belfast and takes a look back over the 40-odd years of political unrest in Northern Ireland. Though it’s fair to say The Northern Troubles aren’t usually considered the most side-splittingly hilarious of subject matter, this play claims that “beneath its humour lies sadness and heartbreak, as the mayhem around its main character slowly and irrevocably invades his life”. Catch it on November 16 and 17.
Meanwhile, in Dublin, impersonator extraordinaire Mario Rosenstock brings Gift Grub 2 to the Olympia Theatre. Expect satire a-plenty as Rosenstock (interviewed to the left) sends up politicians, pop stars and everyone in between.
Also in Dublin, Jarlath Regan performs in the Mill Theatre (12), while John Moloney does three dates in the Laughter Lounge (3, 4, 5). David O’Doherty brings his latest show to Carlow’s George Bernard Shaw Theatre (4), while Jason Byrne takes to the Ulster Hall’s stage (9).