Shane Todd has pushed children over (and will do so again)

"I'll beat up kids in soft play."

Post-COVID, stand-up comedy has found a second life online, with many comedians selling out tours across the country off the back of viral observations, clapbacks at hecklers, and podcast memes. One comedian who has been working hard at the craft since before the era of TikTok, however, is Holywood's Shane Todd, who's been a regular hit on the NI stand-up circuit for over a decade. His Tea With Me podcast has exploded in popularity, and a new class of NI comedians are leading the forefront of comedy in the country, with Shane among the top names. Ahead of his biggest Dublin date yet in the 3Olympia in September, JOE had the chance to chat with Shane about everything from working with Kevin Hart to dealing with kids...

"I do have mummy energy at times."

The new show is called "Mummy", with an endorsement from Kevin Hart that says "dope", which we had to clarify; was that in a positive light?

"In fairness, the context he used it in, he said 'get that big dope out of here, what's he doing in my dressing room, he's not part of the gig', but as soon as he said 'dope', I said, 'that'll do, that's going on the poster'. Just, also, because you said Kevin Hart, I'd know him as Kev, so I didn't know who you were talking about."

The name of a stand-up show can say a lot about the contents of what's about to come. Where did the name "Mummy" come from?

@joedotie "I shouldn't say this, but..." ? We spoke to Shane Todd ahead of his gig in the 3Olympia on September 7, and he told us about one online heckler who bit off more than he could chew ? #shanetodd #irishcomedy #shanetoddcomedy #irish #ireland ♬ original sound - JOE.ie

"The reason that the show is called that, I'm terrible for it, I'll name a show, and then write the show. I just like that as a name. I do kinda have like mummy energy at times, you know like a wee mummy. Like, if you saw me on the brow of a hill, you'd say that was someone's mum. Like a wee sexy mum though, not like an old mum, like a sexy Zumba mum. That's sometimes the attitude that I have. "I've been in a couple situations where I've had my kids out, we're at soft play or something, and instead of being what I thought would be this stereotypical da, see if I get angry at other kids for pushing my kid or something, I adopt a more mummy energy."

Does the comedian take a more passive-aggressive approach to dealing with kids?

"Yes, because, like, there's an area in the soft play, and it's for one-to-five-year olds; why am I seeing a nine-year-old running about there? And why is nobody saying? The parents are there. I will just say 'get out. You're not allowed to be in here'. "I've pushed children before. I swear I've pushed children in soft play. I'll do it again no problem. When they look at you, they're like 'there's no way he did that'. Like if there's a kid taking ages on the slide and my son wants to go, go! Because they'll look at me and think 'there's no way that man did that'. I'll beat up children in soft play, sure."

Shane Todd's show, "Mummy" comes to the 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin on 7 September, with tickets still available via Ticketmaster. If you want to check out more of our chat with Shane, you can watch the full conversation here.

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