CONTACT:
Randi Millman
The Wilbur Theatre

Randi@TheWilbur.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Des Bishop comes to The Wilbur

WHAT: On Saturday, October 24th, 2015, Des Bishop is coming to The Wilbur in Boston’s historic Theatre District.
The openness and honesty of his presenting style combined with his restless imagination and perceptive comic observations make Des Bishop a must-see for fans of unique, insightful and provocative comedy.
As a native New Yorker, Des moved from Queens to Ireland in his mid-teens in 1990. He first came to prominence with his extraordinary TV series The Des Bishop Work Experience (2004), where he lived on minimum wage in a series of different jobs in Ireland. Mixing this documentary footage with stand-up, the series became one of the most talked-about of the year, and propelled Des into national stardom: in the following twelve months, Des played live to over 100,000 people throughout the country.
In 2006, he embarked on his second critically acclaimed TV series, Joy In The Hood, where he taught stand-up comedy in disadvantaged areas in four major Irish cities. Another hugely successful live tour followed including invitations to the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and the Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia.
In 2007/8 Des embarked on his most ambitious and challenging TV programme to date: he decided to learn Irish from scratch and perform a 60 minute stand-up comedy routine in the Irish language. Over the course of 12 months, he lived with a family in the West Of Ireland honing his craft and in March 2008, the first episode of In The Name Of The Fada was broadcast. The reaction was remarkable from school kids to teachers to politicians, who were shocked to see how a native American could become fluent in a language that most Irish citizens struggle with even when learning it from a young age. In The Name Of The Fada has prompted a radical re-think about how to teach Irish in schools and it unsurprisingly won the Irish Film and Television Award (IFTA) for Best Television Series later that year.
In 2010, Des put together his most personal show to date called My Dad Was Nearly James Bond. Inspired by his father, Mike who was diagnosed with terminal cancer; Des documented the remarkable life of an actor and model who gave up the glamour for a steady job in a department store when his three sons were born. Des also wrote a memoir by the same name, which was short-listed for an Irish Book Of The Year Award. The My Dad Was Nearly James Bond live show previewed in Melbourne, before opening at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to widespread acclaim and five star reviews including Brian Logan of The Guardian who called it “a coup de théâtre…compelling…like diamonds, this show is forever”. The show toured extensively both nationally and internationally in 2010/11 including The Barrow Street Theatre in New York.
Des’s most recent project took him to Beijing, China in 2013 to learn Mandarin and he has been living there for the past 18 months. He is now fluent and the show, Breaking China was another major hit for broadcaster RTE in 2014 and BBC Radio 4 are currently recording a documentary on his exploits for the World Service. His live show again opened at the Edinburgh Festival where he played to over 5,000 people and included an invitation to perform at the Soho Theatre in London and a return to Barrow Street in New York.
Des has appeared on many live stand up shows including Edinburgh Comedy Festival Live (BBC), Live at the Comedy Store (Comedy Central) and Australian music themed quiz show Spicks and Specks (ABC).
He made a sharp cameo appearance in Jim Sheridan’s movie In America as a coke-fuelled obnoxious business man and he has co-written two successful stage plays: Rap Eire and Shooting Gallery, the latter being commissioned as a drama adaptation by RTE / Grand Pictures for broadcast in 2016. In total, Des has released five bestselling stand-up DVDs: Des Bishop Live at Vicar Street (2004); Des Bishop Live (2005); Des Bishop – Fitting In (2006); Des Bishop – Tongues (2007); and Desfunctional (2009).
For tickets and more information about The Wilbur and other great events visit https://wilburboston.wpengine.com.

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WHEN: Saturday, October 24th, 2015 – 9:45 PM

COST: $25.00

WHERE: The Wilbur | 246 Tremont Street | Boston, MA 02116 | 617.248.9700

TICKETS: Visit www.wilburboston.wpengine.com, or call the box office at 617.248.9700

About The Wilbur:

Celebrating 100 years, The Wilbur, nestled in Boston’s historic Theatre District, is the premiere destination for comedy and music in Boston, MA. Built in 1914 by The Shubert Brothers, The Wilbur opened in 1915 and was named for The Shubert Theatre’s manager A.L. Wilbur. Recently revitalized by former Comedy Connection owner Bill Blumenreich in July of 2008, The Wilbur has become a first-class venue showcasing A-list comedians and musicians. A Comedy Central verified venue, the theater has attracted the best of the best in comedy including Aziz Ansari, Louis CK, Kevin Hart, Katt Williams and Jim Gaffigan. They also boast award-winning musicians from all genres such as Boyz II Men, Lauryn Hill, Lyle Lovitt and Smoky Robinson. Offering an intimate show setting, The Wilbur provides the perfect environment for enjoying comedy sensations and chart topping artists in the heart of Boston’s historic Theater District.
The Wilbur is located at 246 Tremont Street in Boston, MA. For more information, please visit www.wilburboston.wpengine.com, or call 617.248.9700.
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