One of Ireland’s best-loved comedians, Ardal O’Hanlon, makes his way to Mullingar this Saturday March 27 for a gig at Mullingar Arts Centre.
While the funny man is arguably best known for his TV roles, it is a while since he has toured in Ireland, and he is enjoying the opportunity to get back to his roots as a stand-up comedian.
“I haven’t toured much in Ireland really. When I started out in the late 1980s-mid 90s there was nowhere to play apart from venues in Cork or Dublin. The alternative was a hotel function room where you would take your chances getting changed in the toilets and running through the kitchen to the venue. Now there are purpose-built theatres ideal for comedy,” says Ardal.
Touring intensively since the beginning of 2010 has been a “short, sharp shock. I don’t know what day or month it is,” he says.
“I’m really happy with the show. Unlike anything I do for TV it is very personal, it is my own stuff, my own observations, the way I see the world. I try to do stuff that will appeal to people. It’s a bit of a rant about the world at the moment and my life. It is partly about Ireland and the Irish and everything that’s going on here, but also about being a man in his 40s and trying to raise children.”
Does he feel comedy is all the more important than ever given the current mood of the country?
“Well I think food is more important than comedy. But it is sort of therapeutic, particularly for the performer, to get stuff off their chest. Audiences respond very positively to comedy; it is my job to say what other people are thinking.”
On top of his stand-up work and TV work, including a recent stint in E4’s Skins, Ardal is also writing a play for theatre, but he can’t reveal anything about it just yet.
“It’s like when you’re pregnant, you won’t want to talk too much about it. I’d be superstitious that way. I have a draft and I’ll go back to it after the tour. Doing stand-up is a great excuse not to work on the play.
“I’ve always had an interest in writing, I wrote a novel in the 90s and I’d love to get back to writing novels. It’s the same with a lot of comics - they start with doodling ideas, it’s all part of the same process, it’s all an attempt to make sense of the world whether it’s through TV, writing, comedy.”
Ardal says for him the lure of comedy is “addictive”. “In one way it scares the pants off you, but it’s so exciting. You can think of something during the day and use it that night. There’s a seductive quality to it.”
While touring he is “sort of hyper”, he says. “I am normally a slug, I have the movements of a badger. But at the moment I’m totally hyper, upbeat, and tuned in to the world. You have to be up for it every night.”
While he says he has nothing planned in the TV line, he is open to suggestions. “I have never been proactive in generating TV jobs...Is it a nice position to be in? It’s also a nerve-wrecking position. The great thing about stand-up is you can go through months of idleness, but you always have to be thinking of material.”
In the meantime, those attending tomorrow’s Mullingar gig can look forward to a good rant form the Monaghan comic.
“I probably won’t be able to provide all the answers, but people can expect a good state of the nation rant anyway.”
Ardal O’Hanlon performs in Mullingar Arts Centre tomorrow, Saturday March 27, in aid of Kinnegad Juniors AFC.
