Live at the Marquee: John Bishop raises the roof with laughter
The blue and yellow roof of the marquee was raised with laughter on Thursday night as John Bishop made his welcome return to Cork city.
On a sunny Thursday evening, a mixed-age crowd made the journey to Live at the Marquee to see the Liverpudlian in action.
Judging by the audience, the 57-year-old’s quick wit and hilarious anecdotes appeal to a variety of generations, though there were mostly groups of friends and couples of a similar age to the comedian.
There was chatter and laugher aplenty before Bishop even made an appearance on stage as the excitable crowd settled in for an evening of lively entertainment.
A “trigger warning” kicked things off, telling the audience that if they don’t like jokes, they should probably “fuck off” before Bishop makes his grand entrance. On a motorbike, no less.
The crowd whooped and cheered with delight as he carefully made his way on stage. Bishop on the other hand, seemed slightly nervous to be operating a vehicle, just a couple of feet away from the front row.
Bishop has been riding that motorbike around Ireland for the past three weeks and this show is a “love letter to Ireland”, he says.
It’s clear he has a real love for the Emerald Isle and is sure to name-check a couple of the pit stops on his Irish road trip, incorporating some funny stories from his journey, as well as the odd Irish stereotype or two that go down very well with his audience.
Bishop is best known for his hilarious observational humour and Thursday night in Cork was no different, with the comedy superstar taking the time to poke some fun at the crowd, amidst his usual set which touched on topics such as ”manopause”, the many election posters currently on Irish roadsides, and Brexit.
He’s well versed in crowd interaction and is quick on his feet when an enthusiastic audience member cheers at the words “posh gynecologist”.
As the title of his tour states, Bishop is certainly ‘Back At It’ and his stop-off at Cork was one of 11 dates across Ireland.
When the comedian last played Live at the Marquee in 2022, he famously invited the Cork City Samba Band to open on both nights after stumbling upon them busking during a night out in the city.
At the time, he said: “Cork is the only city where you can book a band on the street, and they turn up the next night.”
On Thursday night, he joked that this decision was made after one too many drinks.
Following Bishop, One Day presents blk. is next up at this year’s Live at the Marquee on Friday, followed by singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey on Saturday.
