BT9 Nigel – the alter-ego of comedian Paddy Raff – looks set to have the audience howling with laughter as well as putting the noses of Fermanagh’s yacht-owners out of joint.
Paddy Raff embarks on his Irish tour which will take in Enniskillen’s own Ardhowen Theatre on Thursday, September 8.
The west Belfast comic has shot to fame over the last few years with his Youtube sketches attracting a massive following, not to mention the success of his BBC series – “The Paddy Raff Show”.
A popular character is the snob Nigel from Belfast’s posh Malone Road area whose stuck-up manner patronises everyone he comes across with the now infamous “know your postcode” put-down.
Both Paddy and Nigel will converge upon Enniskillen although the latter could be run out of town for one toffee-nosed insult too many.
“Nigel may get hungry on the way to the gig and pop into McDonald’s for a Pheasant Nuggets meal,” laughs Paddy.
“As there’s some nice hotels in Enniskillen and around, I’m sure Nigel will be casting his eye over a property or two.
“He might also go down to Lough Erne and start giving the yachts there marks out of ten and also see if his ‘super-yacht’ might be moored somewhere close to the gig.
“It’s always great being able to take Nigel to different towns. I think everybody kind of eagerly anticipates him and his take on their own town.
“Everywhere you go, that place will have a posh part and the audience will know somebody like Nigel. It’s very easy with Nigel to link your jokes to that specific place.”
Paddy Raff is no stranger to Fermanagh and has played gigs here before – although this will be his first as a stand-up comic.
He added: “I’ve played Fermanagh before but not as a stand-up. The gigs I have done was when I used to play in a wedding band.
“I talk about that in my set quite a bit – there’s a lot of material from that. I’ve played down there loads of times at places such as the Killyhevlin Hotel, Manor House Hotel and Lough Erne.
“We always loved going down to Fermanagh because the scenery is absolutely amazing. So I’ve been down before playing in that form but this will be my first show there as a stand-up comic.”
As to what fans can expect for the Ardhowen gig, Paddy says it will centre around his own stand-up and Nigel.
He continued: “On the actual live tour, what I tend to do is limit the show to me and Nigel. That’s more to do with the time constraints.
“You don’t want to be there all day and stretching the audience past their attention span longer than, say, two hours.
“So in that slot you can only effectively do two – maybe three – different characters. The first half would be me doing a bit of musical comedy and some observational stuff with Nigel coming on after the interval for half-hour an hour which is followed by an encore from myself.
“Having said that, before I go on stage, most venues have projectors and I would put on sketches from my repertoire – some brand new, some old favourites that will include a lot of the characters. So fans of the TV show are well-catered for.”
Paddy Raff will be appearing at the Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen on Thursday, September 8. Tickets are £16 and can be bought at: https://ardhowen.com/show/paddy-raff/#booking
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere