The lineup for this year’s Kilkenny Cat Laughs Comedy Festival is out of the bag.
Dubbed “the best little comedy festival in the world“, the Kilkenny Cat Laughs Comedy Festival is the country’s annual craic pilgrimage. All roads lead to Kilkenny on the June bank holiday weekend and this year sees a bumper lineup of comedy acts.
Now in it’s 24th edition, the festival has played host over the years to international and domestic world class comedy and is renowned for treating both talent and audience to a warm, welcoming and convivial atmosphere in Kilkenny, at the heart of Ireland’s Ancient East.
Kilkenny Cat Laughs Lineup
This year’s lineup brings together the best in Irish comedy including, Neil Delamere, Deirdre O’Kane, Andrew Maxwell, Barry Murphy, Karl Spain, Alison Spittle, Bernard O’Shea, Eleanor Tiernan, Abandoman, Colm O’Regan, Chris Kent, Paul Currie, Joanne McNally, Colin Murphy, Eric Lalor, Kevin McGahern, Jarlath Regan, Fred Cooke, Gearoid Farrelly and many more.
Sticking with their tradition of introducing new acts to Kilkenny, there’s a festival debut from Rory Scovel, one of the best comedians on the live circuit today. There’s also a home for Manchester favourite Jason Manford, Aisling Bea fresh from recording one of Netflix’s 15 minute comedy specials, household name Reginald D Hunter, The Last Leg’s Adam Hills, whimsical master James Acaster and the whip smart Sara Pascoe.
Mock the Week’s Zoe Lyons, festival favourite and Ireland’s Got Talent Judge Jason Byrne, keyboard maestro David O’Doherty, Des Bishop and Maeve Higgins (flying in from New York for the weekend) are also all appearing at the 2018 festival.
Beyond The Standup
Blind Boy Boatclub’s new podcast will be coming live from Langtons Ballroom, where you can expect very special guests – one part fiction, a pinch of politics and a heaped spoonful of lunacy. Also making their Kilkenny debut are Reductress, your home for Womens’ News. Feminized with their unmissable podcast Mouth Time – giving you everything you’ve come to expect from a women’s magazine podcast.
Dreamgun Film Reads, including Kilkenny comedian and actor Stephen Colfer, will present their skewed, joke-stuffed & wholly unrehearsed take on cinematic classics. For their special Cat Laughs performance they are set to tackle the time-travelling classic Back To The Future.
A new direction
In 2017, Matt Smyth and Dan Colley of Collapsing Horse Theatre took over the reins as Artistic Directors. They’re bringing some of their own comedy influences onboard and and building on the fine legacy of the festival.
Taking the helm again for 2018, the pair are looking forward to combining the best in comedy standup with new names in the world of improv, sketch, podcasts and more.
Tickets are available for all shows now via thecatlaughs.com.
