The Divine Comedians Podcast

In this episode I chat with actor, writer, performer and comedian, Risteard Cooper. Risteard chats about his childhood and the performative streak that flows through his family. He also chats about his journey into comedy, through acting on some of Ireland's finest stages and then meeting Barry Murphy and Gary Cooke and forming the Irish comedy show, 'Apres Match'. He talks about his processes and the wide variety of impressions he has built up over the years and also about the one-man show he is currently touring across the country.We also chat about the music he loves and the joy of finding bands through your siblings.. https://www.risteardcooper.com/tourhttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSlLVn6LhLBdLBb9SWF_u64o0ZxvBs9MSMusic;'Blue Ska' - Kevin MacLeod(non-copyrighted music) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I chat with actor, writer and stand-up comedian, Barry Castagnola.Barry talks about his early years as a child magician, performing shows for his family and then doing GCSE Drama, moving onto acting and being influenced by the comedy of the Young Ones. He chats about being part of the amazing, 'Cyderdelic' with Marc Wootton, playing the Edinburgh Festival and also how he handles hecklers. Barry also chats about his love of music, including Bill Withers, The Beatles and Portishead.. https://barrycastagnola.com/https://www.instagram.com/barry.castagnolaMusic;'Blue Ska' - Kevin MacLeod (non-copyrighted music) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I chat with stand-up comedian and actor, Alan Francis. We chat about his early years and his journey through acting, working in a garden centre and into stand-up.. We talk about the Edinburgh Fringe and winning the 1991 Channel 4 'So You Think You're Funny'. Alan tells stories of some of the incredible shows he's worked on, including 'Psychoville' with Reece Shearsmith & Steve Pemberton, working with Mel Smith & Griff Rhys Jones and also the stage production of War Horse. He chats about some of his big music loves, including John Martyn, David Byrne, Meatloaf and his love of Jazz..Music;'Blue Ska' - Kevin MacLeod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I chat with stand-up and photographer, Steve Best. We chat about his beginnings and journey, through magic and comedy, to becoming a renowned photographer of his fellow comedians. We chat about his processes, finding his style and the understanding of how to frame an image. We also chat about his love of music and how if things had been different, he'd be teaching Flamenco guitar in Spain.https://www.stevebest.com/https://www.instagram.com/stevebestpicsMusic; 'Blue Ska' - Kevin MacLeod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I chat with the late Roy Hudd's wife, Debbie about their life together and Roy's extensive career. She tells the story of how when working as a dancer, she met the enigmatic Roy and how their romance blossomed over time. Debbie tells stories of Roy's incredible life, including him receiving an OBE for 'Services to Entertainment' from HM The Queen and their many trips to one of their favourite places, Monkey World in Dorset.She also talks about their shared love of music and we hear about some of Roy's quite surprising music loves.https://www.theroyhuddstatueappeal.co.uk/welcome-from-the-missus-1Music by;Kevin MacLeod - Blue Ska Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I chat with comedian, musician, songwriter and composer, Richard Morton. Rich talks about his early life, moving from the bright lights of Singapore to the bright lights of Newcastle and finding his feet in the comedy world.. He won the coveted Time Out Comedy Award in 1992 and was also one half of the Panic Brothers, with singer/songwriter Reg Meuross. He's supported the likes of Jack Dee and Lee Evans on tour and warmed-up for Peter Kay.We hear stories from life on the road and also across the mediums, from radio to tv to the live stage. He also chats about the music he loves and artists he's been lucky enough to see.https://www.facebook.com/rich.morton.58/https://www.comedycv.co.uk/richardmorton/Theme music is by;Kevin McCloud - Blue Ska Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I chat with actor, performer, writer, teacher and director, Ben Keaton. Ben chats about his origins, growing up in Dublin in the 50s and his hugely varied career. Very driven from an early age, he became the first solo winner of the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1986 and that opened many doors, one of which led to him being cast as Father Austin Purcell in the episode, 'Think Fast, Father Ted' in 'Father Ted'.He chats about hiding out in Paris to escape the trappings of fame and the joys of working in the theatre.We also chat about music and Ben dissects my accent..You can find Ben on X here;@benkeaton3https://www.blindsummit.com/the-sex-lives-of-puppetsBen's new Podcast, 'Dirty Stupid Wisdom with Ben Keaton' can be found here;https://open.spotify.com/show/2gS4M8dkOkYHkZova2IVEt?si=b6eb55eba9064016 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I chat with producer, director, writer, creator and BAFTA winner, John Lloyd CBE. John chats about his beginnings in Kent in the 50s and what it was like being in a family that moved around a lot. He talks of going to Trinity College, Cambridge to become a lawyer and then being introduced to the Footlights Review, where his life soon changed.. We discuss the many projects he's worked on over the years, including 'Not The Nine O'Clock News', all of the Blackadder series', Spitting Image and of course the creation of a little series called 'QI'.. We also chat briefly about the music he loves.https://www.waitingforsmith.co.uk/https://www.youtube.com/@WaitingforSmith/aboutTheme music is by;Kevin McCloud - Blue Ska Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I chat with novelist, writer, director and comedy producer, Lissa Evans. We chat about Lissa's work as the Producer on Series 2 & 3 of 'one of the greatest tv sitcoms of all time', Father Ted. She talks about her journey from studying medicine at Newcastle Uni to becoming an Emmy & Bafta winning TV Producer. She tells stories of the recordings of the episodes, both on location and in the studio and the challenges of casting on the series. She also chats about her eclectic taste in music and varied gig-going over the years.https://lissaevans.com/https://lissaevans.com/books/father-ted-book-by-lissa-evans/music is by;Kevin McCloud - Blue Ska Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I chat with writer, performer and stand-up comedian, Eleanor Tiernan. We chat about her journey into comedy via a short daliance in engineering and her move to London from darkest Athlone, to pursue new adventures. She tells stories of performing at the Edinburgh Festival and also how she's learnt a lot from a cousin that's also in the comedy game.. Eleanor Tiernan (@eleanortiernan) https://www.youtube.com/user/EleanorTiernanmusic is by;Kevin McCloud - Blue Ska Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.