Ritual magick works. In really fucking annoying ways.
Andrew O'Neill was trapped down a well. He wrote a show about it, and in February 2016 it was nominated for Best Show at the Leicester Comedy Festival. It was then toured round the UK, Europe and the US to considerable acclaim. It seemed that the concept of being a stand-up comedian trapped down a well was a real winner.
Pausing to write a book about heavy metal, he started to hone the show ready for the end-of-year exam that is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, making it even better and funnier than ever before.
Then he took a hefty dose of chemical hallucinogens and did a massive invocation to Mercury, the trickster god of writing and the spoken word. Shortly afterwards he received a WhatsApp message from a friend in Melbourne, informing him of the existence of the stand-up comedy show Nic Sampson Has Fallen Down A Well.
Shit.
Taking this coincidence as a hefty magical kick up the arse, O'Neill has re-written and re-purposed the show, vastly improving the whole thing while salvaging most of the best jokes. So while it is no longer about being trapped down a well, it is a show about catastrophic ritual magick, coincidence, originality and how two people on opposite sides of the world dug to the centre of the Earth in search of an original idea and found that there was only one there.
O'Neill has opened for Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls, played at Torture Garden, hosted the Metal Hammer Golden Gods with Alice Cooper and the Bizarre Magazine Ball. He is also a regular on heavy metal festival stages appearing at Download, Sonisphere, Bloodstock, Leeds and Reading festivals as well as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe and the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. Andrew's book A History Of Heavy Metal is published by Headline on the 13th July.
His credits include TV shows such as The Blame Game (BBC1), Never Mind The Buzzcocks (BBC2), Saxondale (BBC2) with Steve Coogan, Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle (BBC2) and 50 Years of Rock Excess (Channel 4) as well as appearing on radio shows such as the Musuem of Curiosity (Radio 4) and his writing and performing in Pharmacist Baffler (BBC Radio 4). He is also the author of fanzine FUCK STEAMPUNK, runs his own comedy night named A-Game and plays a Gibson SG in old school punk rock band The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing.
Website:https://www.andrewoneill.co.uk
Facebook:https://AndrewONeillComedy
Twitter: @destructo9000
What the press have said about Andrew O'Neill:
"An increasingly distinctive, imaginative act... brilliant, genuinely unexpected lines are added to the mix." Chortle
"One of the funniest comedians on the circuit at the moment... hitting new heights of comedic brilliance" Time Out
"He's got a natural optimism and love of silliness that leaves you feeling remarkably positive... a winning blend of polemic and off-beat whimsy" The Guardian
"One of the most entertaining, interesting and multilayered acts we've seen. Don't miss a trick ' go and see him now" Bizarre
"Talented, intelligent and unique. Bringing the spirit of the alternative 80s back into the comedy circuit"
Dazed & Confused
"you will leave with a grin on your face that will be there for days." ★★★★ Broadway Baby
★★★★ Fest ★★★★ The List ★★★★ The Scotsman ★★★★ Arts Award Voice
★★★★★ SC Magazine ★★★★ One4Review
Listings Information:
Dates: 5th ' 27th August (not 21st)
Show: Andrew O'Neill's Black Magick Fun Hour
Venue: Liquid Rooms Annexe
Address: 9c Victoria Street, Edinburgh, EH1 2HE
Time: 5pm
Price: Free
