Carl Donnelly

Details

The Beginning
Carl started performing stand-up regularly in 2005 and quickly established himself as one of the most exciting new comics climbing the comedy ladder. His conversational style and silly sense of humour have seen him win a host of awards and become a regular act and MC at clubs all over the country (and the world having also performed in France, Germany, Singapore, The Netherlands, Oman, Dubai, China, Thailand, Ireland and probably some others he has forgotten about!).

Awards & Competitions
‘Best Newcomer’ Nominee at the 2009 Edinburgh Comedy Awards (Formerly the Perriers)
‘Best Breakthrough Act’ Nominee at the 2009 Chortle Awards
Winner of ‘Best Newcomer’ at the 2007 Chortle Awards
Winner of Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2007
Winner of Laughing Horse New Act of the Year Competition 2006
Winner of Reading Comedy Festival New Act of the Year 2005

Press
“The reason why Donnelly is one of the highest-rated emerging stars on the UK circuit is his incredible ability to turn the seemingly mundane existence of the 21st-century slacker into gripping, unmissable stand-up. In Donnelly’s hands, something as simple as getting out of bed can be the springboard to a hilarious anecdote” The Guardian

“..a hell of a lot of innocent fun..” Chortle.co.uk

“..hilariously silly..” ThreeWeeks

“..one to watch.. Leicester Mercury

“..the maturity of a 14 year old..” BBC Leicester

“..by staying true to his daft self, has as much honesty as a hard hitting political comic.” Chortle.co.uk

“[Donnelly] has developed an style that is the antithesis of the loud, sweaty, manic comic so prevalent on the telly and live tours at the moment. This is standup with valium: near horizontal levels of louche that takes the mundane stories of everyday life and turns them into stretches of self-deprecating silliness” The Guardian

“..impossibly effortless..” Fest

“His ability to drop in and out of his material allows him to deliver an electric performance that reveals him to be a natural and gifted comedian” Broadway Baby

“Excellent, fast-rising comic with pacy anecdotal routines” The Sunday Times
Festivals
2010 – Performed his 2009 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated show at the Leicester & Glasgow Comedy Festivals and debuted his new show ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Carl Donnelly’ at the Edinburgh Fringe.

2009 – Performed his debut solo show ‘Relax Everyone, Its Carl Donnelly!’ at the Leicester Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Festival at which he was nominated for the ‘Best Newcomer’ award at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

2008 – Performed a sell-out weekend at the Leicester Comedy Festival in the show ‘Carl Donnelly Vs John Robins Vs Predator’ which then went to the Brighton and Edinburgh Fringe festivals. As well as these Carl also performed at various music festivals including Bestival and Camp Bestival.

2007 – Carl was part of Avalon’s prestigious ‘Comedy Zone’ at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe as well as doing a show as part of the Free Festival called ‘Three comedians for the price of none’. He has also appeared at various other festivals includingLeeds and Latitude

2006 – Carl performed in his first Edinburgh show as part of the ‘Free Fringe’ in the three-man stand-up show ‘The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly’. The show received a four star review from ThreeWeeks and was a massive success.

TV/Radio/Other Stuff:

TV -
Mock The Week (2010)
Dave’s One Night Stand (2010)
The Comedy Store Live – Comedy Central (2010)
The 50 Most Embarrassing World Cup Moments (2010)
Russell Howard’s Good News – BBC3 (2009)
That Was the Noughties – BBC3 (2009)
The Most Annoying People of 2009 – BBC3 (2009)
Grouchy Young Men – Comedy Central (2009)
Comedy Cuts Season 3 – ITV2 (2009)
Edinburgh and Beyond – Paramount Comedy (2008)

Radio
Carl has appeared as a performer on Radio 4′s ’28 Acts in 28 Minutes’ and Loose Ends as well as appearing as a regular guest on Talksport (Various), 5Live (Various), 6 Music (Various) and a number of other radio stations.

Tours
Part of the 2009 ‘Best of the Leicester Comedy Festival’ Tour as well as a support act on various tours including Russell Howard’s ‘Wandering’, Jim Jeffries ‘Second Coming’ and Rhod Gilbert’s ‘What’s Eating Gilbert’s Grape’, Carl is also the first comedian to support a DJ on tour following his involvement in DJ Yoda’s ‘National Video Vacation’ tour.

In 2010, Carl toured his Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated show ‘Relax Everyone, Its Carl Donnelly’ around the UK culminating in a show at the E4 Udderbelly on Soutbank.