Confessions of an Irish Publican

Siamsa Tíre, Tralee, Co Kerry Fri-Sat 8pm €22/€18; Everyman Palace, Cork Apr 27–May 2 8pm €25/€20; then touring to 18 other venues

Most Irish theatre makers start off small and work their way up. Not Des Keogh. His new play, a one-man performance adapted from the Celebrated Letters collection of Kerry writer, dramatist, publican and storytelling godhead John B Keane, opened in New York last year before reaching these shores for a national tour.

So, okay, the Irish Rep Theatre isn’t exactly Broadway, but there’s an endearing irony in treating New York as an out-of-town tryout for these tales of a love-hungry pint puller and his rich assembly of idiosyncratic regulars.

If any of this sounds teasingly familiar, it's because Keogh has mined Keane's collected letters before for The Love-Hungry Farmer, his last touring one-man show, which ran and ran. This new production is pitched squarely for laughs, but Keane's gentle satire and stirring humanity can't be kept at bay, while those given to poignant reflection will remember Keogh and the late Anna Manahan giving breath to another epistolary Keane story, The Matchmaker.

Keogh’s Publican will be doing the rounds until late June. Place your orders.

CAN’T SEE THAT? CATCH THIS

The Cambria ÁrasInis Gluaire, Belmullet, Co Mayo