Just follow the laughter

 

The Bull’s Head pub closed a few months ago – maybe the neighbours complained about all the raucous laughter coming from its irregular Punchline Comedy Club nights.

Now here’s the real punch line: The Punchline Comedy Club has simply moved across the street.

 

Sundowner’s Bar at the Imperial Queen’s Park on Sukumvit Road will host its first guffaw gala next weekend.

 

Ian Coppinger – one of Ireland’s busiest comedians (and that’s really saying something) – will be onstage with top English gag man Gordon Southern and New Zealand’s telegenic rib-tickler Andre King. 

 

Coppinger is a globetrotting comic who’s done the big mirth festivals in Edinburgh, Melbourne and Montreal, and they can’t seem to have a Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival without him. 

He co-founded the Dublin Comedy Improv in 1992 and performs every Monday night at that city’s giddy International Bar. 

 

We asked him what he was grinning about.

“At the moment I’m sitting on my couch in Dublin looking out the window at the rain, dreaming of going away to Thailand, where I hope the weather is going to be better than it is in Ireland at the moment!”

 

Tell us about your most recent show.

I did a show last night in Dublin, in a club called the Laughter Lounge. It was a great show! Half of it’s stand-up and then during the interval the audience text in suggestions and then we improvise as their suggestions appear on a big computer screen. We have no idea what’s going to happen.

 

How did you discover your talent with the funny bone?

I was always very quiet, but once I started to make people laugh in school, I knew I was onto a good thing. I knew I could do shows in proper comedy clubs when I made the other comedians laugh. I did my first show when I was only 16, with my friend Paddy, and decided that night that I was going to be a comedian when I left school.

 

Who’s your favourite comedian? 

I have a few I really like. The Irish comedian Dylan Moran is amazing. I also like Tommy Tiernan, Steve Hughes and Glenn Wool.

 

What’s your own comedy style? 

Being Irish, I do enjoy a drink, and I have a few stories about things that have happened to me while drinking, so I’ll probably be talking about them while I’m in Thailand. 

 

You’re a gifted improviser – does that always mean no script?

When I’m doing stand-up I have a script. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to say, but I have a good idea. Sometimes I’ll just start talking to members of the audience and improvise around that.

 

What kind of crowd is the hardest to crack?

When people make the effort to get up off their couch and make their way to a comedy gig, then they’re usually in the mood for a good laugh. Sometimes, however, people have a little too much to drink and think they’re funnier than the comedian onstage. Silly mistake!

 

Not to imply anything, but do you do anything else for a living? 

No, this is all I do. I try to mix it up, however, so I do stand-up and improvisation, I sometimes compere shows and also I’ve acted in plays. It’s nice to mix it up because it keeps everything fresh.

 

Do you know your co-stars in Bangkok?

I don’t know Andre at all, but I’ve heard he’s a very funny comedian. I’ve known Gordon for many years and we’ve done many shows together. I was actually at his birthday party in Adelaide, Australia, earlier this year. He had a big barbecue in a park with loads of comedians. We even played a game of cricket – English comedians versus Kiwi and Australian comedians. I played for Australia and we won!

 

CHUCKLE MENU

 

Catch Gordon Southern, Andre King and Ian Coppinger on October 21 and 22 at 9pm at Sundowner’s Bar at the Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel. 

Tickets cost Bt1,500 from (02) 233 4141 or (02) 234 3590 or www.GreatBritishPub.com.