THE DIRECTOR of the Carlsberg Cat Laughs Comedy Festival said the event would provide people “with an escape from the depressed state of the country”.
The four-day festival will take place in Kilkenny over the June bank holiday weekend, from Thursday 3rd to Monday 7th.
At yesterday’s launch in Dublin, Rebecca Austin said the festival would feature 47 “hand-picked” Irish and international “comedy stars” staging 70 shows at 16 venues. Among the “local heroes” performing would be Dara Ó Briain, Des Bishop, PJ Gallagher and Neil Delamere.
Performers from overseas include Britain’s Simon Amstell, of the BBC show Never Mind the Buzzcocks; the “effortlessly funny Scottish pin-up” Danny Bhoy; American star Rich Hall; and “high-profile Aussie television star Tom Gleeson”.
One of the highlights is expected to be the festival debut of the “Pajama Men”, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who were described as “a hurricane of bizarre characters”.
Austin (38) has worked “in the comedy industry” for 10 years in Britain and her native Australia, and previously ran the Brighton comedy festival. She has been newly appointed to run the Kilkenny festival with “a contract to run for three years – unless I muck up the first one”.
She described Cat Laughs, now in its 16th year, as “the perfect festival”, which attracts “very loyal audiences”.
Some 20,000 tickets have now gone on sale and booking and further details can be found at the box office website, carlsbergcatlaughs.com
