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Contact:
Rick Miramontez/Philip Carrubba
rick@oandmco.com / philip@oandmco.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

New York, NY (October 5, 2010) – Barrow Street Theatre presents the U.S. premiere of the new solo standup comedy, My Dad Was Nearly James Bond, by Des Bishop direct from the 2010 Edinburgh Festival, where he received rave reviews, for five performances only, October 7-10, 2011 at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street). The play will run in tandem with the current production Capsule 33 by Thaddeus Phillips (now in performance through October 16.)

After storming the 2010 Edinburgh Festival, Des Bishop returns to NY with a deeply personal tale of about his father who has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Inspired by his father’s illness, the impact it has had on his family and their sense of humor in dealing with it, Des’s latest internationally acclaimed standup show, My Dad was Nearly James Bond, tells of a remarkable life tinged with regret. As near the knuckle hilarious as it is life-affirming.

“Before I was born,” said Des Bishop, “my father had another life. As a boy I thought it was the coolest thing ever that my father was a model and appeared as a blind pilot in the cult classic, Day of the Triffids and had one line in Zulu.” He went on to add, “His biggest claim was that he was very close to getting the role of James Bond. George Lazenby got the part, and we never watched James Bond in our house as it reminded my father of his regrets about the career he left behind to raise a family. But in all the scrapes Bond got through, he never had to raise a family and there is no gadget that Q could ever have created to help with that.”

Undoubtedly one of the most captivating and thought provoking comedy forces on the international circuit, Des delivers an extensive collection of hilariously funny, and heartwarming material in his latest show. My Dad Was Nearly James Bond champions the real heroics of fatherhood by challenging common regrets and the ridiculous ideals of manhood.

The Guardian, UK said, “He brings honesty, perceptiveness and 35 years' worth of bottled-up love, and fashions them into a beautiful gift to his dad. Like diamonds, this show is for ever.” “Funny, erudite and effortlessly delivered,” said The Scotsman, UK. While The Sunday Age in Melbourne, Austrailia said, “One of the finest performers at this years festival. Fast paced and clever. A sure-fire winner.”

The five-performance schedule for My Dad Was Nearly James Bond is as follows: Thursday and Friday October 7th & 8th at 9:30 p.m., Saturday, October 9th at 4:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m., and Sunday, October 10th at 4:30 p.m. General Admission tickets are priced at $25 and are available through SmartTix (212) 868-4444, www.smarttix.com, or at the Barrow Street Theatre box office (open at 1 p.m. daily). Student Rush tickets at $15 are available on the day of performance only at the box office.

Barrow Street Theatre is located at 27 Barrow Street at 7th Avenue South in the heart of Greenwich Village. Nearby subway stops are the 1 at Christopher Street (walk 1 block South on 7th Avenue to Barrow) and the A, C, E, B, D, F and M at West 4th (walk West on 4th Street, left on Barrow).

BIO__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Des Bishop (Playwright/Actor) a native New Yorker, moved from Queens to Ireland in his mid-teens in 1990. He has since carved out a highly successful career in standup comedy in Ireland as well as having had three acclaimed television series on RTE, Ireland – “The Des Bishop Work Experience” (2004), “Joy in the Hood” (2006) and most recently, the award winning six episode comedy documentary series “In the Name of the Fada” (2008). The openness and honesty of his style combined with his restless imagination and insightful comic observations make Des Bishop a “must-see” for fans of unique, enquiring and entertaining comedy.

Undoubtedly one of the most enigmatic forces on the international comedy circuit Des continues to travel the world over with his standup shows. His most recent standup show My Dad Was Nearly James Bond received its premiere at the 2010 Melbourne International Comedy Festival winning rave reviews and playing to packed audiences. Des has gone on to perform this confronting and personal show at the Montreal Just for Laughs, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before embarking on a national tour of Ireland this winter.

Des has released four standup DVDs including “Des Bishop Live” on DVD (2005), “Tongues” (2008) and “Desfunctional” (2009) which all secured positions in the Top Ten for the busy Christmas periods. As organizer and resident MC of the International Comedy Club in Dublin, Des has also penned two stage plays in collaboration with Arthur Riordan.

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