Abie Philbin Bowman

About me:

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.

’Jesus: The Guantanamo Years’ on Tour