Better known as ‘Jake’ or ‘the dirty old wan’ PJ Gallagher’s reputation precedes him and although he hasn’t done Naked Camera in several years, he will always be associated with the popular candid camera-style comedy show.
Speaking to PJ, it becomes apparent that he laughs as much as he speaks... and he speaks a lot! He is extremely excited at the moment as he is preparing for his weekend in Kilkenny where he will be performing at the Carlsberg Cat Laughs Comedy Festival on the June bank holiday weekend.
This brings PJ great joy!
“I love Kilkenny,” he enthused. “For comics it is the best festival in the world! For us this is the start of the comedy year. You are lucky if you begin in Kilkenny and all comics want to start their year here.”
Year on year, I hear that comics are all enthralled by the comedy festival and none of them seems to tire of the event which has been going on now for 14 years in Kilkenny. Comics rave about Kilkenny and the relaxed atmosphere that we’re told embodies the festival for comics and keeps them coming back every year they are invited.
“I hate comedy festivals as a rule,” says PJ, “but the Cat Laughs is different. First of all you have to be invited to it ,and in order to be invited to it you have to be doing well so it’s almost like a sign that you’ve made it if you get invited.
“It’s funny for comics from abroad coming for the first time who don’t really know what the Cat Laughs is about, they come expecting a competitive atmosphere and a more cut-throat business but they get here and are like, wow - this is great! Kilkenny gigs sell out before we ever arrive, so there is no pressure to sell tickets. We perform for 20 minutes of our best comedy and audiences get to see five of the world’s top comics, in top form in one small intimate venue - it doesn’t get much better than this!”
PJ has gigged all over the world at this stage and he is currently busy performing around Ireland. Having spent time in America and the UK, he is well aware that an Irish audience can sometimes be ‘more challenging’ than a foreign one.
“I have performed in many festivals internationally at this stage and the best audiences - but often the most challenging - are the Irish ones. If you are not doing a good performance you will definitely be found out quicker and you will not last. Therefore the standard of Irish comedy is very high - it simply has to be,” he said.
“Irish audiences are tougher than most but if you can get your head around an Irish audience you will do OK. You need to learn how to deal with hecklers in a way that does not throw you off your show and ruin it for others. I find it easiest to play along with hecklers and try not to let it take over.”
PJ’s new show doesn’t incorporate much of his work from Naked Camera but as he said himself - he was a stand-up comic before he was ever Jake or the dirty old woman.
“Don’t get me wrong, I am here because of those characters, but my gigs are never based on them. Jake took me over for about three years but my stand-up was always number one. I am lucky (or unlucky ) enough to be clumsy and accident-prone-enough to make gigs out of my own misfortunes most of the time. I base my shows now on embarrassing moments and in fact it is not the embarrassing act that is funny - it is our reaction to that, that is funny. I fall into these embarrassing situations all the time - these things actually happen to me.” he says.
And you will have to go along to some of PJ’s performances to see what embarrassing and sticky situations he has got himself into in recent times. He plays over the four nights of the June Bank Holiday weekend. See the brochure or call into the ticket office at the Brewery for details.
