Hackles raised at Cat’s Laughs as comic booed off stage after controversial Mr A gag

IT wasn’t so much a case of the cat laughing as the cat scratching at last weekend’s Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival after a controversial comic was booed off stage after making a reference to the Mr A underage sex case.

Audience hackles were raised during a performance by American comedian Doug Stanhope which included provocative remarks about statutory rape laws.

Stanhope was performing in Langton’s, in Kilkenny, last Friday, when he made his comments about statutory rape laws and child abuse.

He was part of a triple bill with Liverpudlian comedian John Bishop and Irish comedian Daire O’Briain, with American Dom Irrera as MC.

A small but vocal element who, it appeared, had come to see O’Briain, continued to talk during all the other comedians’ performances and, indeed, Stanhope had demanded that they be quiet just before he made his controversial remarks.

A large section of the audience appeared to take issue and began to boo and hiss and continued to do so until Stanhope seemed to give up and walked off the stage, leaving a rather nervous looking O’Briain to come on and attempt to rescue the situation.

Stanhope had been due to appear as part of other shared bills over the weekend but the organisers cancelled these performances — they did however give him another solo show instead, to add to the two he was already scheduled to perform, including a set in Cleere’s last night.

The festival’s artistic director Ed Bannon said yesterday: “The Cat Laughs festival never sets out to censor any comedian. Doug has a very thoughtful show, he puts a lot of effort into the writing of it, he means everything.”

While Stanhope was not available for comment yesterday, he rather ruefully remarked during his Saturday night performance, that he had been “mercifully left off the hook” when it came to performing the other joint shows.