Laugh at the Bank 2010! (19/04/2010)

Féile an Phobail today announced the 2nd annual Laugh at the Bank, Belfast’s first dedicated Weekend Comedy Festival which will take place over the May Bank Holiday weekend (27 – 30). The festival runs over four days and nights, culminating with top notch headline acts each night in the Bank Square Marquee.

Friday night headlines with the man we all know from the telly and one of Ireland’s biggest stand up names, Karl Spain. He has performed his comedy all over the world. He’s probably best known in Ireland for his TV series Karl Spain Wants A Woman which was a huge success in that he not only got huge ratings but he also found himself a woman. Karl also writes his own short films and can also be seen on BBC Stand Up Show, BBC Choice Comedy, Class Clowns, Liffey Laughs (series 1 and 2) and The Panel and has appeared on Tubridy Tonight, The Late Late Show and The Afternoon Show. Karl will be supported by New Yorker Aidan Bishop began his comedy career in his hometown but has since relocated to Dublin. He is the resident MC of the famous International Comedy Club… Ireland’s leading Alternative Comedy Club now with 5 shows a week. Taking the night’s local slot by storm will be Aaron Butler.

Saturday is truly not a night for the faint hearted with the hold-nothing-back crusader Neil Delamere taking centre stage! Presently working on The Panel the RTÉ comedy news show alongside Ed Byrne and Colin Murphy and hosted by Dara Ó Briain, Neil is also a regular on The Blame Game, a topical tv show for the BBC. Hailed by the Irish Independent for his countless MC skills, Neil is the regular compere at several gigs round Dublin. He has performed all over Ireland as well as at the prestigious Kilkenny Cats Laughs Festival, the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival and the Adelaide Fringe Festival. He featured in both series of Liffey Laughs, RTE’s stand-up show in 2005 and 2006 as well as The World Stands Up for Paramount. Neil will be supported by Bernard O’Shea whose television credits include RTÉ’s The Liffey Laugh, Naked Camera, Just for Laughs, The Cafe, The Byrne Ultimatium, Gerry Ryans Hitlist/End of Years and is currently the resident reporter on Republic of Telly.

Sunday night sees the comedic great Paul Tonkinson close the festival. A much sought after comedian for live comedy shows all over Britain and internationally, Paul is has presented ‘Take the Mic’ for ITV, ‘The Big Breakfast’ for Channel 4 and the London and Manchester Breakfast Shows for XFM. A former Time Out ‘Comedian of the Year’, he recently appeared on BBC One’s Michael Mcintyre’s Comedy Roadshow. Paul will be supported by Sunderland’s Matt Reed, and with so many gigs of every size under his belt, from 3000 to 30, there is pretty much no comedy situation Matt can’t handle. The nights local slot will be filled by the one and only Gemma Hutton, described as ‘[a] Spanking brand new female comic, who has hit the scene with a bang. The next big thing to come out of the north since Harp.’

The night time compere for the weekend will be our own Seamus Carabine.

On Saturday 29th, a marathon comedy event will take place in Belfast’s Oh Yeah Music Centre. Laugh 4 Haiti will raise funds for the people affected by the Haitian earthquake which occurred in January 2010. Almost 20 comedians will take to the stage in the marathon day beginning at 1pm – come support the fantastic cause and Laugh for Haiti.

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