The British comic, Paul Merton, leads the line-up for this year's Murphy's Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny. It takes place from May 28th to June 1st.
Merton, who is first-generation Irish, is best known for his work on the television programme, Have I Got News For You?, but he will be returning to his stand-up roots for the festival. "I won't be sitting behind a desk making sarky comments," he told The Irish Times. "The Kilkenny gigs will be me doing what I think I do best, standing up with a microphone." Merton's show will feature totally new material - "if I manage to get some new stuff written in the four weeks remaining".
Other big names appearing at the festival are Bill Bailey, who is fresh from his own highly successful BBC2 show, Is It Bill Bailey?, and US comics Rich Hall, Dom Irrera, Kathleen Madigan, and off-beat Canadian performer Harland Williams. A strong Irish contingent includes Dylan Moran, Mark Doherty and Barry Murphy. The festival's sponsor, Murphy's, is particularly pleased that Tyrone comic Owen O'Neill will be bringing his one-man show, Off My Face, which is about his struggle with alcoholism, to the festival.
Last November, his show was pulled by the sponsor (a well-known drinks group) of the Manchester comedy festival because it felt its subject matter "was inappropriate".
This is the fourth year of the comedy festival and going by last year's attendance figures, about 20,000 people are expected to make the trip to Kilkenny for the Bank Holiday weekend. A total of 50 comics from all around the world will perform in 10 venues during the weekend. The only slight disappointment expressed by the festival director, Richard Cook, was that renowned US comic Garry Shandling (aka Larry Sanders) will not be able to appear due to promotional commitments in Los Angeles. Having established itself as a festival to rival Edinburgh's Fringe and Montreal's Juste Pour Rire/Just For Laughs festival, Kilkenny has consolidated its position and remained a firm favourite with the comics themselves because there are no awards presented during the festival - thus lessening the competitive edge - and also because no television cameras are allowed to film the acts.
Tickets for all this year's acts, and all further information, are available from this morning by ringing 056-63837. The organisers say that early booking of both shows and accommodation is highly recommended.
