David O'Doherty

Late'n'Live Guide to Comedy

The greatest hits of the legendary Fringe bear-pit makes an appearance on TV

2 Feb 2012

‘The performing equivalent of self-harm’ is how Johnny Vegas describes the bearpit hell of the notorious Late’n’Live. Brainchild of the Gilded Balloon’s head honcho Karen Koren, this Edinburgh Fringe staple has been sending chills down the spines of…

David O'Doherty is Looking Up

Immaculate content delivered with furious enthusiasm

19 Aug 2011

David O’Doherty used to work in a German sausage factory. This might sound like a crass comedy set-up, but it is in fact true. His role was to drive a giant Hoover designed to suck up the smashed, sausage-filled jars that tumbled off the conveyer belts.

Comedy picks for the Edinburgh Fringe 2011

20 Jul 2011

David O’Doherty Two shows this year from the beloved man of lo-fi musical comedy with the high-laugh quotient. His usual brilliant sit-down/stand-up fare, David O’Doherty is Looking Up, is augmented by his debut on the one-man comic play scene. Rory…

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011 - sneak preview

Liberace, Finnish a capella groups and iPad fairy tales just some of the coming attractions

23 May 2011

Whether it’s origami genitalia, homosexual deities or political commentary on the Lockerbie bombing, Edinburgh’s Fringe seldom arrives with a whimper but rather a ruddy great roar. June sees the official launch of 2011’s line-up, but we thought we…

The Horne Section

Late night jazz comedy shambles – in a fun way

25 Aug 2010

‘We’re combining music and comedy – we’re pretty sure this is the first time it’s ever been done!’ announces Alex Horne, taking on compère duties this evening at the head of a live jazz band. There’s a bit of audience participation, some snappy music…

David O’Doherty

Mild-mannered Dublin comic returns with less song and more chat

23 Aug 2010

The Casio keyboard remains but this year the mild-mannered Dublin comic returns with less song and more chat. And also more book reading, mainly from his recent publication 100 Facts About Pandas. Bung in a kaleidoscopic range of observational indie…

David O'Doherty, Claudia O'Doherty and Mike Ahern - 100 Facts About Pandas

19 Jan 2010

(Square Peg) Did you know that an administrative error resulted in the panda being classified not as a mammal but as a nut? Were you aware that the original Concorde had an in-flight panda called Mr Nougat who snuggled up to passengers having…

David O'Doherty

Last year’s if.comedy winner consolidates

18 Aug 2009

One of David O’Doherty’s fellow Irish comics recently mused that it would be quite a sight to see the Dubliner shocking his fans by performing a full-on political show. This is clearly not the moment for such wild reinvention, for DO’D has a firm…

David O'Doherty

29 Jul 2009

The Dublin comic has wooed us all down the years and it was only a matter of time before he’d do the same thing to some judging panel or other. And so it was last August when he waltzed off with what has proved to be the final ever if.comedy main prize.

Edinburgh Festival comedy highlights for a fiver

15 Jul 2009

Ooh, a Fringe in a credit crunch. It’ll be interesting times for all this year, but if you get in quick you can catch some of the best acts in exchange for a mere fiver. We’ve selected fifty of the finest shows you can see for the price of a…

First Word - David O'Doherty

5 Mar 2009

First record you ever bought I got Thriller for my Communion, but my first actual purchase was the 7in single of Roland Rat’s ‘Rat Rappin’ when I was six. Last time you were chatted up I can’t remember the last time. Although I get asked if…

Glasgow Comedy Festival

1 Mar 2009

More than most of the big names appearing at this year’s Glasgow International Comedy Festival, Dublin-born Ed Byrne knows how to work a Glaswegian crowd. He did, after all, used to go to the University of Strathclyde in the city (to study horticulture…

Comedy of the Year

11 Dec 2008

In the past 12 months, America was at long last able to give itself a good hard slap on the back. Not only did they dispense with Bush and give McCain the elbow, they allowed some of their finest comic minds to invade these shores in a non-violent…

If.comedy shortlist long on quality

Little to argue with over judges award selection

21 Aug 2008

The rant was already prepared. How could they possibly let A on there when B has put together a far more impressive hour? C was absolutely hilarious: why have they let D & E in when they were funnier three years ago? And yet the good people sitting…

Edinburgh Festival If.comedy award shortlist announced

If.comedy nominees 2008 announced

20 Aug 2008

The Intelligent Finance Comedy Awards are the UK's premier comedy awards now in its 28th year. It is given for the most outstanding up-and-coming, funny, original comedy show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The nominees for the 2008 Intelligent…

I Can't Sleep by David O'Doherty

No cure for insomnia

14 Aug 2008

Next time you find yourself wide awake in the middle of the night, desperately trying to think of ways to make yourself tired, try taking a few leaves out of David O'Doherty's self-help manual for insomniacs. Rule number one: counting sheep is just…

David O'Doherty

Finding gold in the everyday dirt

14 Aug 2008

By the end of his self-introduction, before he's even reached the stage, David O'Doherty has his audience braying like donkeys. The Dublin comic has done so many consistently enjoyable Fringe shows that getting laughs must be like shooting fish in a…

Hitlist - Festival comedy

31 Jul 2008

David O’Doherty The Irish muso-comic delivers more ribald whimsy with a tiny keyboard and giant talent. The Stand III & IV, 558 7272, 1–24 Aug (not 11), 9pm, £9.50 (£8.50). Previews until 31 Aug, £8.50 (£7.50). Sarah Millican The north-east…

'It’s a comedy colonic!' - David O’Doherty

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

Jay Richardson meets David O’Doherty, the mild-mannered comic whose musical musings and offbeat observations have won him a legion of indie followers. This year he’ll be feeding his insomnia by entertaining kids and adults alike As an award-winning…

David O'Doherty

23 Aug 2007

Due to his distinctive, idiosyncratic style (plus, possibly, last year’s Eddies nomination) David O’Doherty has a strong following and has nothing to prove. Yet, for the sixth year, he serves up the goods. In sharp contrast to O’Doherty’s endearingly…

David O'Doherty

11 Aug 2006

A Festival habitué by now, David O’Doherty is a slow-burner whose expressly ‘low energy’ shows have had him on fizzy water shortlists in the past. While this year’s offering is no wild departure from orthodoxy, it is still a mighty clever, mighty funny…