Comedian under fire as fans allege star was drunk on stage at festival

COMEDIAN Andrew Maxwell has come under fire from angry fans after allegedly taking to the stage drunk at a weekend gig.

The show at the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin was part of the Carlsberg Comedy Festival which ran from Thursday to Sunday, with a line-up of Irish and international comedy acts.

Fans who turned up for Friday’s performance by Mr Maxwell, a regular and popular guest on RTÉ’s The Panel, claimed on RTÉ radio yesterday that he was only on stage for less than 10 minutes and appeared to be drunk.

Mr Maxwell’s agents refused to comment on the claims, but callers to RTÉ’s Liveline radio show yesterday insisted he was unable to complete his act.

“He said he was very drunk. He didn’t seem to be able to focus at all so after about 10 minutes, he decided to leave the room because the audience wasn’t responding,” said one caller to the show.

Another said Mr Maxwell’s speech was slurred and that he repeated himself on several occasions.

Other Liveline listeners and people who left messages on the boards.ie internet discussion forum expressed their disappointment and described how the MC came on stage about 10 minutes into Maxwell’s performance and the comedian then left the stage.

Others who saw him perform again on Saturday night said he was in top form and apologised for his behaviour, for which he appeared very embarrassed.

Mr Maxwell’s agents, United Agents in London, said the company was not making any comment on the claims when contacted by the Irish Examiner yesterday.

Aiken Promotions, which organised the event, said 400 people were at Friday night’s show, which also featured PJ Gallagher and Bernard O’Shea, and which was part of a four-day event attended by more than 20,000 people.

“There was an incident with Andrew Maxwell on Friday night, for which he has apologised. Feedback from the vast majority of comedy fans has been extremely positive,” a spokesperson said.

“Aiken Promotions understand that some patrons may have been disappointed with Andrew Maxwell’s performance on Friday night and will respond individually to any written comments by ticket holders,” she said.

Tickets for the 10pm show, which lasted around an hour-and-a-half, cost €29.50. Many people who left messages about the incident on the internet forum and a discussion on the Facebook social networking site also said they would be seeking a refund.