David O’Doherty coming to one of ‘the big dog towns’
Mullingar is one of ‘the big dog towns’, according to comedian David O’Doherty, in his remarks online announcing his Irish shows this spring; the other towns in that category are Cork, Dublin and Derry.
That’s what David calls the towns – ‘Whoa Is Me’ is what he calls the show he’s going to perform in them. His date for Mullingar Arts Centre is Thursday February 17.
If you’re not familiar with David’s quirky comedy, you’ll find him online, as he has made regular appearances on ‘Live at The Apollo’ (BBC) and ‘8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown’ (Channel 4).
David is from Dublin and at one stage he had notions of becoming a professional cyclist – he didn’t, but he has got back into cycling in recent years.
He did his first open spot at the now defunct Norseman Comedy Club in Temple Bar in 1998 and the following year he went to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the first time, and won the Channel 4 So You Think You’re Funny? new act competition.
He returned to Edinburgh in the years after, and in 2002 went with a new show ‘small things’ – he met comedians such as John Oliver, Bret McKenzie, Taika Cohen, Andy Zaltzman, Josie Long, Jemaine Clement and Daniel Kitson “each doing wonderful and unique things”, and decided he definitely did want to be a stand up comedian.
His interest in cycling showed up in ‘Saddled’, a show he performed in 2002 with his friend Bryan Quinn at Project Arts Centre in Dublin. It was the first theatrical show to feature live repair of audience member’s bicycles, David says.
He has performed at festivals in Melbourne, Montreal, New York, Galway and Kilkenny; he wrote a radio series ‘The Bees of Manulla’ with his brother Mark for Irish radio, and in 2005 he supported Tommy Tiernan and Rich Hall on tours of Ireland and the UK.
He says he learned a lot from them.
David went on to win further awards for his act, and wrote the books ‘100 Facts About Pandas’ with his friends Mike Ahern and Claudia O’Doherty (100factsaboutpandas.com) and ‘100 Facts About Sharks (100factsaboutsharks.com); appeared in a film with his brother Mark and Dylan Moran; and done many, many comedy gigs.
He’s still appearing on UK television on shows such as QI, Have I Got News For You, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Would I Lie to You; he has hosted an episode of Nevermind the Buzzcocks; and in June 2012 he became the first Irish comedian to have their own Comedy Central Presents show on US television.
His biography on his website ends 2014, so if you want to know what he’s doing now, best get on to mullingarartscentre.ie or call 044 934 7777 and book your ticket for the gig.