Kevin Myers takes to the stage to great applause. He pouts his lips, winks at the audience and begins to move his hips, crooning: Did I never treat you right?/ Did I always start the fight?/Not only will your answers keep me sane/But I know never to make the same mistake again.
The finale of his rendition of the All Saints song Never Ever is dramatic and poignant, but it's not really Kevin Myers, just a deadly accurate impersonation by Risteard Cooper of the Apres Match team.
The hit of this year's Murphy's Cat Laughs comedy festival in Kilkenny, the Apres Match team of Barry Murphy, Gary Cook and Cooper delighted the festival with their eerily accurate impersonations of Irish sporting and media figures.
Playing to sell-out crowds in the Watergate Theatre they brought a sense of mischief to the weekend's proceedings. Now in its sixth year, the festival has consolidated its position as a major player on the international comedy circuit. Over 30 acts plied their mirthful trade in venues around the cathedral city. There was the topical titter-fest from Guardian columnist Armando Iannucci, the arid dry wit of Hattie Hayridge, the X-rated observation of Ian Cognito and a rat-a-tat delivery from Dara O'Briain.
Away from the festival proper there was also a Cat Laughs cartoon festival with exhibits from Tom Mathews, Private Eye magazine and Graeme Keyes, while "Kitty Flicks" (a series of Irish comedy films) kept the crowds entertained during the day.
An estimated 30,000 people made the trip for this most enjoyable of weekends. A major talking point - and source of inspiration for most of the acts - was the current controversial move to downgrade Kilkenny from "city" status to "town".
If the locals were up in arms, the comics were up in laughs. English act Johnny Vegas warned that not too many of them should go away on holiday at the same time, "otherwise you might come back to find yourself living in a village".
The festival continues today. Information from tel: 056-63837 or www.murphyscatlaughs.com
