“Witty… intelligent…riveting…Rich with ironic possibilities.”
- News on Sunday (Pakistan)
"A wonderful show... intelligent and engaging comedy... One of the most talked about shows in this year’s [Edinburgh] Fringe. ****"
- Three Weeks (Edinburgh)
“There are sharp observations… rollicking wide-ranging reflections…proper understatement and crack timing… An inspired performance”
- The Patriot Ledger (Boston)
"Displays superb humanity... destined to be a Fringe favourite... Miraculous. *****"
- The National Student (UK)
"The greatest stand-up story ever told… Funny, thoughtful, impassioned…Abie [Philbin] Bowman deserves a comic sainthood."
- The Stage (UK)
Influences
’Jesus: The Guantanamo Years’ on Tour
TV Shows
& OTHER MEDIA
Television
(International) BBC News, Sky News;
(Ireland) RTE News, TV3’s Ireland AM and Nightly News with Vincent Browne, RTE1’s The Late Late Show, Prime Time, Seoige and O’Shea, The Big Bite and The View;
(UK) BBC1’s The Heaven and Earth Show;
(USA) CN8’s Backstage with Barry Nolan.
Radio
(International) BBC World Service, NPR;
(Boston and New England:) WMFO, WMBR;
(Ireland) NewsTalk, RTE Radio 1, Today FM, FM 104, 98 FM, Anna Livia;
(UK) The Edinburgh Fringe Podcast, U109, Premier Christian Radio, BBC London, BBC Scotland, BBC Ulster and BBC Asian Network.
Print (* indicates that the story included a photo of Abie) (International) Reuters, Associated Press, International Herald Tribune;
(France) Le Monde;
(Ireland) The Irish Times*, The Sunday Independent*, The Sunday Business Post*, The Sun*, The Irish Examiner*, Hot Press*, Metro*, The Irish News*, The Evening Herald*, The RTE Guide*, The Galway Advertiser*, The Event Guide*, The Kilkenny People*, The Kilkenny Advertiser*, The Offaly Independent*, The Star*, The Dubliner*;
(Pakistan) The News on Sunday*, The Post;
(UK) The Times*, The Guardian*, The Sunday Times*, The Telegraph, The Financial Times, The Stage*, The List*, The Scotsman*, The Irish World*, The News of the World, Scotland on Sunday, Metro*, The New Statesman*, TimeOut*; (USA) The Boston Globe*, The New York Times, The Miami Herald*, Metro*, The New England Tab*, The Patriot Ledger*, The Irish Emmigrant*, Boston Now*.
Front Covers The Sunday Independent: Review (June 2006) The List: Festival (August 2006) The Irish World: Guide (June 2007) The Boston Globe: Living Arts (July 2007) The New England Tab: Entertainment (August 2007) The Miami Herald: Issues and Ideas (September 2007)
"The face of this years’ [Edinburgh] Fringe" - The Scotsman
Films
Ways to compete with Google
Are you a fan of the Onion?
"Jesus Christ Held at Guantanamo Bay"
Find out more on this site.
Abie Philbin Bowman is steadily “sealing his reputation as one of Ireland’s most thought-provoking comedians” (Galway City Tribune). “It’s all a big mistake,” Abie explains. “I wanted to be a novelist. But tragically, I had a happy childhood.”
In addition to headlining gigs in Dublin, Cork and Galway, Abie has performed in comedy clubs as far afield as Edinburgh, Boston and London (where he debuted in the legendary Comedy Store alongside John Bishop and Frankie Boyle). In 2006 he was a semi-finalist in Channel 4’s So You Think You’re Funny? His comic parody of The JCB Song (featuring a Trinity student singing The BMW Song) has played extensively on Irish radio.
Abie is a regular contributor to a wide range of media outlets including BBC Radio, RTE’s The Late Late Show and The View, TV3’s Ireland AM, Newstalk 106 and The Dubliner magazine – where Abie has written a regular column since 2001.
Abie’s first one-man show, Jesus: The Guantanamo Years, took the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe by storm. “If Jesus Christ returned to earth today, there is no way He would get through U.S. immigration. He’s a bearded, Middle-Eastern guy, prepared to die as a martyr… and He’s just walked out of a cave.” The show completely sold out and was featured by over 30 media outlets including Associated Press, Reuters, the BBC, Sky News, Le Monde, The Financial Times, The Guardian and The New York Times. The Scotsman dubbed Abie "the face of this years’ [Edinburgh] Fringe".
Jesus: The Guantanamo Years has since sold out across Ireland, travelled to London’s West End, Jimmy Tingle’s Off Broadway (USA), and back to the Edinburgh Fringe for a second sell-out run. In November 2007, the show was chosen to represent Ireland at the World Performing Arts Festival in Pakistan… making Abie the only Irish comedian ever to perform a religious, political satire in a Muslim country under a state of emergency.
Jesus: The Guantanamo Years has been the subject of protests, bomb scares and a boycott by Ian Paisley’s DUP. Abie is unrepentant.
“I think it’s pretty hypocritical for supporters of Ian Paisley to criticise me for dressing up in orange and talking about Jesus”.
He is quick to dismiss accusations of blasphemy.
“I’m no religious expert, but I’m pretty sure that telling jokes about God is not as blasphemous as torturing His children.”
Jesus: The Guantanamo Years
is now available on
iTunes.
Abie’s new show
Eco-Friendly Jihad
tells the story of an environmentalist who – frustrated by America’s failure to reduce carbon emissions – joins Al Qaeda.
Eco-Friendly Jihad
made it’s professional debut at the 2008 Galway Comedy Festival where it sold out. The show will travel to Edinburgh in August 2008.
Who I'd like to meet: challenging conversationalists.
Hey, how did Dundrum go, really looking forward to seeing the show in Ed, my sis was gonna catch it in Dundrum but was working late the 3 nights it was on. Hope you're well
Hey Abie! Thanks a lot for accepting my request. Loved what I saw on Balcony TV the other day, but after listening to some things here on your page and especially reading some of your blogs I am highly impressed. Cheers, Mel
