SO IT'S LIKE THIS ...
Anne Gildea is a Dublin-based comedienne.
A pioneer of Irish lady comedy, Anne started out in London in the late 80s. Co-founder of uber successful female comedy musical trio The Nualas, who toured internationally for many years. she has multiple other comedy tours under her belt including How to Get The Menopause and Enjoy It which toured for three years to great acclaim, and lead to a 34-date UK wide theatre tour with pre-eminent UK menopause expert, Dr Louise Newson in Autumn 2024.
Anne is currently touring her brand-new show, Further Adventures in Womaning.
Building on the insights of her previous show, How to Get The Menopause and Enjoy It, it looks at the changing perception of A Woman’s Role from the 1960s to now: From 18-hour girdles and Housewives of The Year, to ripped influencer grannies pumping iron on Insta, from The Sunday Drive to The Spa Break, and weight-loss bread to Ozempic jabs, via The Chiffon Scarf Test, Anne weaves a startling and hilarious path through a changing half century of womany stuff. It's about the women our mothers were, the women the world of yore said we should be, and the women we actually became…
Previously, Anne was a founding member of Ireland’s top shiny-dressed, musical-comedy girl-trio The Nualas, who toured everywhere from Melbourne to New York to Hull, playing stage, television, and the wireless (1995 –2002 & 2011-2018). Their unique brand of intricately arranged self-penned songs and provocative chat about current stuff proved a huge success. The Nualas toured worldwide, most notably playing The Royal Albert Hall, London; an extended seven-week run at The Irish Arts Centre, New York; many runs at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival; a couple of months packing them in at the Drill Hall, London, nine weeks at The Tivoli Theatre and five weeks at The Academy, Dublin and runs at The Lyric, Hammersmith and The Olympia Theatre, Dublin plus shows at plus tours of UK, and trips to Australia and Asia
Their international radio and TV appearances included a double headliner on BBC 1 TV’s Stand-Up Show, with US comic Jon Stewart, BBC’s Edinburgh Nights, The Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala, Seven Network, Australia, plus also writing and recording several radio series for BBC Radio 4.
As a solo comedian Anne headlined on 5 Irish TV series, including, X-it Poll, X-it File and The Gerry Ryan To-Night Show. She featured in the RTE documentaries The Green, Green Grass of Home, and No Laughing Matter, which followed her battle with breast cancer in 2011. Other television work includes Fr. Ted (Channel Four) and Bridget and Eamon (RTE 2).
In the 2000s she produced and toured four stand-up shows: A Nonsense of Ireland and Me & Gildea (with her brother, comedian, Kevin), Funny Girls with other Irish female comedy talent and the solo Anne Gildea Goes All the Way. She played a 16-night run at Dublin’s Vicar Street, and the 4000-seat Marquee, Cork with RTE stars, Podge & Rodge, head-lined an episode of RTE’s The Liffey Laughs, guested on The Late, Late Show and way back in the mists of time was a finalist in the Hackey Empire New Act of The Year competition in 1994.
She was columnist with Irish Mail on Sunday for 7 years, by-line ‘A wickedly funny take on modern Ireland’, has written for many others and has published two books, a comic novel, Deadlines and Dickheads, and a memoir, I’ve got Cancer What’s Your Excuse, inspired by her run-in with Stage 3 breast cancer which in turn inspired the Irish feature film, The Bright Side, which premiered in cinemas in 2021 and streamed on Amazon Prime.
She started out in London in the late 80s, along the way winning a scholarship to train as an actress, at ALRA, London.
She was born in Manchester, England, to parents, and raised on a small farm in Sligo, Ireland.
She can foot turf like a good thing. When she starts getting a smell of herself we set her mammy on her.
Smidgen of Reviews
Never has the female body been put under such an hilarious microscope... Utterly punk.’ Irish Independent | ‘Side-splittingly funny...voice worthy of a West End Musical…a cathartic night out ****” Reviews Hub | ‘Talented, confident and phenomenally quick-witted.’ Chortle.co.uk| 'Irresistibly hilarious’ Irish Times | 'Laugh out loud funny.’ Hot Press | ‘Ireland’s answer to David Sedaris.’ GCN | ‘Uproariously funny.’ Irish Mail on Sunday | | “The funniest, most honest, and real show I have ever been to!” Audience member |
Nuala Reviews
'Must see… wackily original.' NY Times | ‘Dammit! The Nualas can sing and make your face ache from laughing’. Time Out, London | ‘They had a capacity crowd eating out of their hands.' The Evening Standard, London | 'With writing as funny as theirs, these small-town Irish girls could sing about watching someone watch paint dry and we would still be riveted.' The Independent, London | 'The audience bayed, clamoured and stamped for more. I haven't seen the like at a 'Fringe show before!' Edinburgh Evening News | 'Hilarious, stretch-sequinned, glitter-ball evening of bizarre comic songs and febrile Irish banter. - Time Out, London | 'The Irish trio inspire instant adoration.’ The Herald, Scotland | 'Like true comedians they establish a superb relationship with their audience. You will be smitten.’ What's On, London. | ‘Genius.’ The Scotsman | ‘A world class act’ Sunday Times | 'Astoundingly hilarious lyrics. Simply resonantly hilarious.' Event Guide, Dublin | 'When they skipped off behind the glittering backdrop for the last time, I was truly sorry to see them go.' The Times, London. | 'Feckin’ great.' The Village Voice, NY