AL PORTER in a leotard in the wrestling match to end them all; a man with his mouth taped shut performing surreally hilarious mimes; former Olympian Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards; and the very best comedians from Ireland, Britain, USA, Denmark...it can only be the Vodafone Comedy Carnival Galway.
The Vodafone Comedy Carnival Galway will have its official launch party in the Róisín Dubh on Friday August 26 at 8.30pm and ahead of that, the Galway Advertiser can reveal a wealth of acts coming to this year's festival which runs from Tuesday October 25 to Monday 31.
Among the highlights will be The Dan Band, the comedy music trio who had show stealing appearances in The Hangover, Starsky & Hutch, and Old School; The Boy With Tape On His Face from New Zealand; the mime artist who brought the house down when he appeared on America's Got Talent; and Joe Lycett, whose deadpan letters complaining about such issues as public toilets and public transport have stolen the limelight on appearances on 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Also appearing are award winning Aussie comic and another 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown guest, Sam Simmons; British comic Stephen K Amos, whose political comedy tackles race relations, being black and gay in Britain, as well as pop culture; Alfie Brown, called "quite simply the future of British stand-up" by The List; as well as the great Canadian comic, Glenn Wool, a welcome and always regular visitor to Galway.
Also coming to the carnival are British-Asian comic, Shazia Mirza, with her new show, the critically acclaimed, The Kardashians Made Me Do It, called "as brave a piece of comedy as you'll see" by the Mail on Sunday; Jamali Maddix, winner of the Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Award 2014; Danish comedian and Westlife obsessive, Sophie Hagan; as well as Jason Manford; Tom Rhodes; the wild-haired surrealist comedy of Milton Jones, Welsh comic Lloyd Langford, Phil Kay, and Tom Stade.
Irish comics feature strongly on the bill, so expect shows from Tommy Tiernan, Al Porter, Jason Byrne, David O’Doherty, The Rubberbandits, Andrew Maxwell, Foil Arms & Hog, Aisling Bea, Deirdre O’Kane, PJ Gallagher, Dermot & Dave live, Bernard O’Shea, Barry Murphy, The Nualas, David McSavage, Colin Murphy, and the silent, surreal, comedy from the trouserless Paul Currie.
Improv, song, and the wonderfully weird
Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood of Whose Line Is It Anyway? USA will be joining forces with join Stephen Frost’s Impro AllStars; Michael Winslow from the Police Academy films will be doing extraordinary things with his vocal chords; sketch superstars The Pajama Men, Belgian mime artist Trygve Wakenshaw; crazy prop comedy from Spencer Jones; and afternoon fun for all the family from 1988 British Olympic hero, Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards, and the inspired, politcally charged, fake BBC news reporter and internet sensation Jonathan Pie.
The spiegeltent will make a welcome return to Eyre Square, while a quirky new venue to watch out for is Bob’s Blundabus. Comedian Bob Slayer brings his double decker London bus which is also a 50 seat theatre to town. Expect lots of fun and showcases from homegrown heroes.
Winners and wrestlers
The comedy carnival will also host a major competition, Irish Comedian Of The Year, aimed at up and coming and established comedy circuit acts. There will be a first prize of €2,000 and slots at the Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne festivals. There will also be Galway's great burlesque night, The Dirty Circus; Irish language stand-up night GaelGAIRI (le Tommy Tiernan agus Al Porter ) and Bright Club - a variety night for lateral minds, where academic researchers become comedians for a night...and then there is the Over The Top Wrestling featuring XPac (formerly from WWE ) with guest appearances from the comics of the festival - meaning you can watch them trying to wrestle.
For more information see www.roisindubh.net
