Al’s agenda is no laughing matter

ONE of Ireland’s campest and most outspoken comedians, Al Porter has a round-the-clock schedule of stand-up shows and is preparing for his upcoming panto production Freezin.
This week, The Gazette found out what an average day for the Tallaght comedian is like.
“I’m one of these people who has to set four alarms. I set one alarm as a treat for myself at 6am, then another at 7am, then at 7.30am and finally at 8am, which is when I normally get up.
“I then flick on the lights and check my emails and Google my own name to see if I’m mentioned anywhere or if any senators are suing me that morning.
“My day begins with a green tea, then a lemon and ginger tea, an allergy tablet and a fruit juice. I then play a bit of Abba and dance around my dog until I have to be out the door for something around 10.30am.
“At the moment I’m working on a lot of different things. I’m writing a Panto at the moment with Karl Spain called Freezin which is definitely not a rip off of that Disney film.
“I’m also starring in it with Dustin the Turkey, which is great since he’s the only bird I fancy.
“I’m also going to loads of meetings with producers and doing open cast auditions for the show. I’m also making a new TV programme for RTE 2 in November called The Al Porter Show, which is going be filmed live in the Olympia.
“The meetings that I go to sound very boring, but actually they’re very fun and full of craic. I just make loads of mad requests in the hope that one of them gets chosen.”
Porter added that he does stand-up whenever he can and after his sold out show in Vicar Street, he says that he never tires of performing on stage.
“Whenever I get the opportunity, I do a bit of stand-up in one of the many comedy venues that I started out in.
“Like last weekend, I popped into the Laughter Lounge and did a few minutes and met all of the comedians who I’m friends with there.
“Any free time I get, I might go down to my local and a have a few pints or even to The Workmans Club and see where the night takes me. At home I like to just browse the web and maybe order a Dominos and watch a couple of films or shows. I just finished House of Cards and Hannibal, which were deadly.
“I then usually head to bed around 2am because I literally find it impossible to sleep any earlier. I only need about six hours of sleep to just about get by anyway.”