Final few days of MAYhem festival in Kilkenny gets underway
The final four shows of the inaugural Mayhem festival take place this week
Organisers are reflecting on a month of MAYhem and an incredibly successful, joyous, raucous, and fun-filled first festival as they set their sights on The Cat Laughs this bank holiday weekend.
From the jump, there was a tangible buzz around this festival. On night 6, Billy Byrne’s hosted their first comedy show – starring Brennan Reece, Shane Clifford, a Bumble Bee, a stage invader, spilt drinks and whole heap of audience participation.
MAYhem’s revolutionary passport system proved very popular with reward-hungry punters and the ministry of MAYhem quickly became inundated with applications for emergency passports.
With only two nights to go, the MAYhem is set to come to a head with four shows in 48 hours in a fitting end to a festival which shows no regard for time constraints!
This Wednesday, (May 27) sees the legendary Rich Hall join the madness at The Pembroke Hotel.
Alison Spittle and Tom Ballard will keep him in good company for a triple-header that is not to be missed. If you haven’t made it to a MAYhem show, this is your opportunity to get a flavour of what it’s all about. Show starts at 7.30pm.
On Thursday, ( May 28), MAYhem will to come a roaring climax with no less than three shows in one night. Rich Hall will take the stage at the majestic Set Theatre for a headline solo show. Rich Hall is an Emmy-winning American deadpan comedian and writer who found major success in the UK. He is a regular on panel shows like QI, won a Perrier Award for his country-musician alter-ego Otis Lee Crenshaw, and popularised the term "sniglet." Notably, his appearance and style served as the direct inspiration for the character Moe Szyslak on The Simpsons.
Over on the far side of the Nore, Tom Ballard will warm the hearts (and test the lungs) of a lucky few at Cleere’s, with his final MAYhem show. Tom is an award-winning stand-up comedian and broadcaster. He has had sell-out live shows across Australia and his own national late night show, Tonightly with Tom Ballard. He’s a two-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and has supported the likes of Danny Bhoy, Wanda Sykes and StephenMerchant on tour. Ali Woods is a half-English, half-Scottish comedian, podcaster and content creator. With sellout tours, and a huge online following, this is a great chance to see a big name in an intimate venue.
Billy Byrne’s, which hosted its very first comedy show at the beginning of the month, has seen some of the best nights of the festival and proven to be a beautiful venue. Alison Spittle will play her final MAYhem show here off the back of a wildly successful run, leaving her in flying form for her Cat Laughs shows to come. Alison is an award-winning comedian, actress and screenwriter whose current show BIG (which she is performing at MAYhem) has won the Comedian’s Choice Award and sold out at the Edinburgh Fringe. She co-hosts Ignore That Feeling with Fern Brady, and is a frequent guest on TV shows including Celebrity Gogglebox, Pointless Celebrities, and Richard Osman’s House of Games, earning praise for her sharp wit and joyful performances. Show starts at 7.30pm.
As the first ever MAYhem festival draws to a close, the team would like to thank everyone who made it possible and contributed to the staggering success of this bold new concept.
The cat is most certainly out of the bag, and it’s unlikely to go back any time soon.
May the MAYhem continue for a long time to come.
“We have been blown away by the response to our first ever MAYhem,” said Richard Cook, festival director.
Tickets available at www.mayhem.ie