LAST LAUGH

An expat comedy club that hosted the like of Eddie Izzard and Michael McIntyre closes after 18 years

BACK in 2005, a new comedy club arrived in Madrid and Barcelona. The brainchild of Irish promoter Stephen Garland, the idea was to bring top-flight comedians from the Edinburgh Fringe to Spain for the first time.

Legendary Irish comedian Jason Byrne was the first to appear. His outstanding show, performed at the Giggling Guiri in both cities, was a taste of things to come.

Nearly two decades on, another top stand-up comedian, England’s Seann Walsh, became the final act at the club.

“I’ve got the jackpot of multiple sclerosis,” Garland tells the Olive Press, explaining his main reason for throwing in the towel. “It’s ‘primary progressive’, and generally that’s a fast-track to the end.”

Having studied music and media management, Garland arrived in Barcelona in 2002

EXCLUSIVE

By Simon Hunter

and soon ‘had the bright idea of making an Irish festival’. The multidisciplinary event was planned around Saint Patrick’s Day, 2004 but, unfortunately for him, the date coincided with the 11-M terrorist attacks in Madrid. As Spaniards came out onto the street to protest in response to the atrocity, the crowds stayed away from the shows.

Wounds

“So I went back to the drawing board, to lick my wounds, and the following year I decided to make a comedy club in Barcelona and Madrid,” he says. The result was a consistent run of award-winning shows. Among the major names that were tempted over were Eddie Izzard, Michael McIntyre,