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Mary Bourke Mary Bourke

A glance at Mary Bourke's set list reveals a catalogue of topics that give female comics a bad name.

She starts with a dildo joke before moving on to STDs, euphemisms for anal sex and magazine tips on how to spice up your sex life. From start to finish, her sights rarely move above the belt.

No subject is ever completely exhausted for comedy, of course, and even the most familiar themes can yield new laughs in the right hands. Bourke sometimes hits paydirt with an inspired twist of language - but too often she chooses to go careering down Route One.

Her ideas of chavvy greetings cards suitable for the lowlife of - insert name of nearest rival town to gig location here – are probably the best demonstration of her flair, with skilful rhymes she's all-too willing to point out. It’s a tantalizing glimpse of what she could be capable of, should she dare to venture beyond the obvious more often.

But on the other hand it's hard to find anything to commend her use of such crass lines as: 'My husband's half-Jamaican, half-English. He has a huge penis but no sense of rhythm’ as if it were still 1973.

Her sing-song rural Irish accent gives an air of innocence to juxtapose against the filthy comedy she peddles, and her delivery is undeniably effective. But it’s mostly lowest-common-denominator stuff, aimed squarely at the hen-party packs. If you’re not wearing a pink cowboy hat, you might wish for something a bit more inventive.

Date of review: May 2008

Where can I see Mary Bourke next?

When: 21:00 - Friday 22nd Aug, '08
Venue: Banana Cabaret
Prices: £13 (£9 concs)
Comics: Mary Bourke, Matthew Osborn, Milton Jones, Stephen Carlin
When: 21:00 - Saturday 23rd Aug, '08
Venue: Banana Cabaret
Prices: £16 (£13 concs)
Comics: Mary Bourke, Matthew Osborn, Milton Jones
When: 20:30 - Sunday 24th Aug, '08
Venue: Downstairs at the King's Head
Prices: £7 (£5 concs)
Info: Plus Anthony Miller, MC Mike Manera
Comics: Del Strain, Helmut, Mary Bourke, Paul Chowdhry
When: 21:00 - Saturday 6th Sep, '08
Venue: EDComedy
Prices: £9 (£6 concs)
Comics: Kevin Shepherd, Mary Bourke, Tony Hendriks, Charmian Hughes (MC)
When: 20:00 - Friday 10th Oct, '08
Venue: Bristol Jongleurs
Prices: From £15
Comics: Daniel Townes, Dougie Dunlop, Mary Bourke
When: 20:00 - Saturday 11th Oct, '08
Venue: Bristol Jongleurs
Prices: From £17
Comics: Daniel Townes, Dougie Dunlop, Mary Bourke
When: 20:30 - Saturday 25th Oct, '08
Venue: Downstairs at the King's Head
Prices: £9 (£7 concs)
Comics: Ava Vidal, Cole Parker, Dan Antopolski, Mary Bourke, Pete Cain, Dominic Frisby (MC)
 
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