Who doesn’t love a good joke? Well we never were partial to rib tickling or side splitting and feel life is best experienced in a sombre mood with little to no delight or joy.
As it happens we were invited to a new comedy night in Dublin taking place in the surroundings of Panti Bar.
A Bear, a Bull and a Chicken walk into a bar…
And we quickly followed after them to partake in some jokes and booze. With the nights hosted by Joe Kearney, each nights performances feature from comedy groups, stand ups and everything in between. This particular night would be comprised of improv artists only, the stage owned by the Laugh A Lot group.
Heading downstairs into Panti’s basement we stepped into a crowded bar, small gatherings of tables with lit candles and groups of eager attendees all expecting a good few laughs.
Taking our seats we waited eagerly with the rest of the crowd before the delightful host Joe began proceedings by introducing the night and the performers, tonight would feature the improv comedic stylings of himself, Rory, Charlotte and Neil with all four being joined in the second half by Maria and Declan.
– Joe, the lovely host with lovely hair
The events of the night were plotted out for us by Neil who graciously explained what each event was before the professionals took to the stage. Before the first performance Joe kindly explained to us the level of appreciation we should applaud with ranging from 1 – 6. One being a one finger clap, four being a full clap with all the men in the audience chanting and six being a rambunctious roar with the ladies shouting!
The show was split into two halves with various different performances taking place on both sides and the most important part of the show being the audience participation. Helping the performers with their locations, actions and at one point even their movements.
‘Fail tale’ forced the comedians to line up and tell a story in sequence and if any of them hesitated or stumbled then the audience had to shout fail until they left the stage! Fast Forward had performers acting out a scene with another in control of the speed, direction of the story and even the language. Watching Neil and Charlotte perform this was absolutely brilliant particularly when they forced to speak in different accents and watching them in reverse speed was even better. We think the remote control user (Joe) has a bit of a wicked streak as his fingers seemed stuck on reverse and language.
At the halfway point, the performers filled out their quota for the adverts by trying to sell the audience a gold plated toilet roll that also doubled as a food processor and a chicken that acted as a hoover and producer of milk. Chatting to people at the show it was pretty clear that the night, only halfway through, was already a huge success. Many had been at the shows prior to the night and told us how much it evolves each week and every week is preceded by an even better show. The newcomers also had nothing but positive remarks to say and as the curtain was raised (metaphorically) on the second half we took our seats once more and settled in for another amazing half.
Joined by Maria and Declan in the second half, performers were involved in everything from Puppet Mastery (where we were pulled up on stage to act alongside the professionals), audience suggestions for dialogue and ‘this is not funny so do not laugh’. The ‘don’t laugh’ section was probably the highlight of the entire night where the comedians had to retell a story without making the audience laugh any of them who did cause even the slightest chuckle was forced off stage and replaced by a fellow performer.
We have been to a fair few comedy shows in our time, we’ve been delighted by stand ups and attended other improv shows but nothing has compared to ‘A Bear, a Bull and a Chicken’. It was by far one of the best nights out we’ve had in Dublin and it’s pretty clear why. Aside from the comfortable (and moderately priced booze) surroundings of Panti Bar, it is the performers who so clearly enjoy and love what they are doing every Monday that have turned this night into such a success. Getting people to laugh isn’t hard but entertaining people without making a knob out of yourself is and these guys have managed to entertain, split our sides, tickle our ribs and make us shoot beer out our nose without sinking to low humour.
If you are looking for something to do on a Monday night, you are strapped for cash and in need of a few laughs or you are just looking for something different to do then this is something you have to check out.
Admission is free, performances are fantastic and you are guaranteed to have one of the best nights out ever.
A Bear, a Bull and a Chicken is on every Monday 9pm in Panti Bar.
And from the words of the man behind the night, here is what you can expect this Monday…
“This Coming Mondays comedic line up was almost entirely a Sausage Fest so I add to add a few fembots to the mix to balance out the Genders.
First up it’s the overnight instant hit, instant wit KARNAGE improv troupe then a wee break to widdle, schmoke, buy booze etc.
The second have is choc a flock full full full of Stand up excellence.
Ann Marie Lewwis, just back from the States this will be her Panti Debut.
Joining her on the tiny but mighty stage will be She Been Chics very own Danny O’Brien, Trannie Ward, Kieran Lawless and the Headliner is the Baldy Babe of Jokes, yarn spinning and fast Gags yes it’s Rory O’Hanlon, who is not a direct relative of Rory O’Neill as the first name would suggest”
