Jake O'Kane: 'I offend everyone, no one gets away'

“Derry audiences are great, but getting them to get tickets, they’re always the last to buy,” he said.

He will return to the Millennium Forum on January 11 and 12 next, with his new show, ‘Nobody Shouted Stop.’

“I’m like a magpie, I pick out bits during the year and log them away and think that might work. “It’s still not written, I’ll write it in the next couple of weeks, it’s like a jigsaw puzzle.

“The show is a review of the year, but it’s a very loose review of the year. I don’t do as much politics as I used to do, as people are sick of it. I realised that, that it has to be a stand up show. There’s a lot of me talking about getting old, and families, all the stuff a stand up would talk about and experiences throughout the year. That’s the backbone of it. Then you move on to the wee stories that popped up, the nonesense throughout the year, to remind people that it hasn’t gone away you know.

“I offend everybody, I make that an absolute certainty, no one gets away without getting a touch,” he said.

The Belfast funnyman has performed here for a number of years, and has moved from the Declacroix for comedy clubs, to the Playhouse, and in recent years to the Millennium Forum.

“This is my third show in Londonderry. It’s got to the stage now that around 60% of people are returns. It’s become traditional - get your turkey dinner and come down and see me rant for an hour or so.

“The Derry audience is brilliant, it’s like Liverpool, everyone is a comedian. They’re not shy.

“My show has multi-media in it and relies on a bit of technology, and in oneshow the computer died. I had 15 minutes on the stage in the Forum. I spent 15 minutes putting down hecklers. It was great fun,” he said.

Finally, Jake had some advice for those who are coming to see him in January. “Come early, try not to fall off the seat too drunk, it’s better if you can actually breathe by yourself, it makes it much more enjoyable.

“If you heckle, you will be eviscerated,” he added.

Tickets for Jake O’Kane in the Millennium Forum on January 11 and 12 are now available from the Box Office on 02871264455 or online at https://www.millenniumforum.co.uk