Award-winning Irish comedian David O’Doherty brings his new stand-up/sit-down show to Kilkenny this weekend for what promises to be a hilarious and surprising performance in David O’Doh-party.
Fans can expect to see the return of O’Doherty’s renowned ‘tiny keyboard’ as he incorporates his usual quirky but brilliant musical element to the act in Set Theatre this Saturday.
O’Doherty’s star has risen considerably in recent years having been on the Irish comedy circuit for more than a decade without having previously punctured the public consciousness as forcefully as he might have liked.
He even claims that once, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the entire audience of five people, who had all won their tickets through a radio giveaway, walked out during a performance of his first full show, The Story of the Boy Who Saved Comedy.
But despite such early hiccups, he was nominated for a prized Perrier award for Best Newcomer at the festival and maintained his resolve to be a stand-up comedian, eventually finding a more compassionate following.
That resolve brought him to comedy festivals around the world, including Kilkenny’s own Cat Laughs, as well as festivals in Montreal, Melbourne, New York and of course, Edinburgh.
And when RTE broadcast his television show, ‘The Modest Adventures of David O’Doherty’ he began to reach a much wider audience, to the point where he can now proudly boast that he is the number one ranked person named David O’Doherty on Google.
Along the way he has supported perennial favourites such as Tommy Tiernan and Rich Hall on tours of the UK and Ireland and Demetri Martin in the US, helping to establish a solid fanbase for his own unique comedy stylings.
But perhaps most tellingly, in 2008 he won the if.comedy award (formerly the Perrier Comedy Award and now rebranded simply the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, but most importantly dubbed the ‘unofficial Oscars of comedy’ ) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for his show ‘Let’s Comedy’.
The show featured the story of a relationship told through text messages, supported by tunes on his keyboard and a ‘badger attack’. Other accolades include the Hot Press Irish Comedian of the Year in 2003 and a further Edinburgh nomination in 2006 for his show ‘David O’Doherty Is My Name’.
It was his six-part TV series, ‘The Modest Adventures of David O’Doherty’, which made him a household name in Ireland, airing on RTE Two and directed by John Carney, director of the Academy Award winning film, ‘Once’.
The show saw O’Doherty trying to achieve a series of goals he had set out for himself, such as a cycling from Dublin to Galway for a gig, which saw him quit 100 kilometres from his destination, or attempting to record a ‘minor hit’ that would chart at number 27. In the event his song, ‘Orange’, fell just short, charting at number 30.
If anything, O’Doherty certainly cannot be accused of resting on his laurels, with an incredible output in various offerings.
As well as producing a new comedy show annually, which is aired at comedy festivals such as Edinburgh, Kilkenny, and Montreal, he tours regularly around Ireland, the UK, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand.
On top of his TV show and an appearance on ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’, he appears in the feature film, ‘A Film With Me In It’ alongside Dylan Moran, Keith Allen and Neil Jordan, written and starring his brother, Mark Doherty.
His literary career includes a children’s book entitled ‘Ronan Long Gets it Wrong’, a play, ‘Saddled’, co-written with Bryan Quinn, a children’s play entitled ‘I Can’t Sleep’ performed with Maeve Higgins, a radio series about bee detectives, written with his brother Mark Doherty and most recently a book called ‘100 Facts About Pandas’, revealing 100 false facts about pandas.
His latest CD, ‘Let’s David O’Doherty’, recorded live in Whelans, follows an earlier live CD, ‘Giggle Me Timbers (Jokes Ahoy )’, recorded in his home in front of 35 people.
And his short story about a lobster named Shelly who discovers the joys of music was adapted into an animated short film by animator John Kelly.
So what can you expect from the new show from a man with such a prolific output? Well, expect plenty of hilarity, no shortage of surprises and a bountiful supply of off-beat, quirky comedy.
David O’Doherty performs David O’Doh-party at the Set Theatre, Langton’s Hotel, Kilkenny this Saturday, March 6.
