That quirky blend of comedy and economics, the Kilkenomics festival returns to the city this week to better inform the masses about the times we’re living in.
The success of last year’s inaugural festival means more heavyweights from both worlds as economists and comedians join forces to tackle the burning issues.
With the doom and gloom surrounding the recession seemingly exasperated by breaking news each day, this may be your best bet in the search for answers and solutions.
The brainchild of Cats Laugh founder Richard Cooke and leading economic commentator David McWilliams, Kilkenomics aims to brush away the shroud of mystery and complexity that surrounds fiscal matters for the average punter.
Stand-out participants in this year’s line-up include world-renowned economic adviser Jeffrey Sachs, with Cooke describing his presence as ‘a coup’ for the festival.
“He is a fantastic communicator and he is able to easily communicate complex ideas in understandable ways so it is definitely worth getting to see him,” says Cooke.
Twice named one of Time magazines 100 most influential people in the world, Jeffrey Sachs will join David McWilliams for the Raymond Crotty interview in the Set Theatre at 12pm on Saturday.
Max Keiser could prove one of the most popular panellists, the former Wall Street broker turned TV presenter, radio host and entrepeneur never shy to question the system and deliver some hard-hitting truths.
Other international names that stand-out include British economist and author Will Hutton, a former economics correspondent for BBC’s ‘Newsnight’ and Editor-in-Chief of the Observer; and US writer George Anders, part of the Wallstreet Journal team that won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1997 and author of ‘The Rare Find’.
If you mind’s getting a little boggled by the thought of all these great minds preaching, fear not; this is where the comedians enter the fray.
Household names like David O’Doherty, Des Bishop, Neil Delamere, Colm O’Regan and Karl Spain will complement the team of economists, helping to put a clarifying and sometimes humorous spin on some of those complex issues.
That’s how it works. And it does work, if the popularity of last year’s festival is anything to go by.
“Audience participation is crucial and we strongly encourage people to come along and use this opportunity to ask the questions they want answered and in a language they will understand,” says McWilliams.
Kilkenomics is already underway in various venues around Kilkenny city. For full details of what’s on and where visit www.kilkenomics.ie or visit the Box Office at 26 Rose Inn Street. Phone (056 ) 7763837.
