SHORTT by name, but certainly not short of ideas and a zest for life; comedian, actor and musician Pat Shortt's latest tour How's Tings? comes north of the border next week.
All too often comedians can be quiet, subdued or even boring when not on stage. Not so Shortt. I meet up with the Tipperary man in Belfast city centre and am quickly impressed and entertained by his charisma, charm and infectious laugh.
I just have to start by asking him How's tings?
"Great," he laughs. "It wasn't hard to come up with that title for my new show. Sometimes the most obvious things are the hardest things to come up with. I was working on writing new material when I went into a shop down in Waterford and someone said to me 'Well, how's things?'
"They didn't know me – that was the normal conversation – and I said to myself, gosh, there is something in this as people don't realise they are saying it. A lot of my material is about the obvious. I try to find it in characters, whether it be a character trait or whatever."
Raised in Thurles, one of 11 children, Shortt had ambitions as a young man to be a musician. However, he followed his brother to Limerick College of Art, where he met Jon Kenny and launched unexpectedly into a career in comedy.
"We started writing some sketches together and having fun. I then did sound for him for a couple of years as well as earning my apprenticeship in entertainment."
Within a few years, their anarchic class of Irish character-based comedy had become a national phenomenon and D'Unbelievables became a television success.
In 2000 Kenny was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The news came as a great emotional blow to Shortt, but, while his pal was recovering, he had to consider the future as a solo performer. His first show in 2002 was a sell-out and his RTE series Killinaskully proved to be another success.
Shortt is also an award-winning actor, whose first acting job was in the cult sit-com Father Ted where he played the role of violent village idiot Tom.
"Tom was a nice pleasant oul fella with a dodgy haircut – just misunderstood," laughs Shortt, who has fond memories of the late Dermot Morgan. "Dermot was an amazing guy and great character. I've never since met anyone since with the same energy."
Shortt branched out into more nuanced roles, including a lonely garage worker with learning difficulties in Lenny Abrahamson’s Garage and a farmer facing up to his wife’s terminal illness in Gerard Barrett’s Smalltown.
He also won critical praise for his stage appearances in the West End and Broadway for his portrayal of Johneen Pateen Mike in Michael Grandage's production of The Cripple Of Inishmaan.
His co-star, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, became like part of the family.
"Dan is a lovely man who the whole family got to know through rehearsals and in London. When it came to New York my young fella Ludaigh used to sit down with him watching the World Cup at the time. They were great buddies," says Shortt, who only now appreciates the enormity of being part of a Broadway production.
"At the time acting on Broadway just becomes part of your diary and it's not until a year later that you look back and think, that was quite something. We were the most-ever nominated Tony Award show. I wasn't nominated, but there was a great write-up in the New York Times saying I should have been. That was my badge of approval."
Shortt is above all a family man and is proud that his daughters Fay (18), and Lily Rose (16) seem to be following in his creative footsteps.
"Fay is doing her Leaving Cert this year and she is applying for drama school. It would be great to perform together in the future. Lily directed a short film when she was 13 which won awards in Ireland, Greece and Germany. She was everything in it, a bit like me doing my show. There is something kind of cool about your kid doing the same thing you do," the doting dad says.
In How's Tings, Shortt will introduce audiences to a variety of new characters, such as Sister Eucharia and Eugene, the chairman of every committee in the parish – or, in Shortt's own words, "a p**s head who is full of his own self-importance".
"It's going to be a night of madness and craic and characters. A lot of the show is me talking about myself and where I grew up, and my dad, who is now 86 and has been a huge influence."
Shortt will be hoping for no wardrobe malfunctions, though he admits he isn't easily embarrassed.
"I've had it all happen on stage, but you just get on with it. Years ago during a live show I was running around doing a swimming-togs scene with a pair of boxing shorts on me and I forgot there were no buttons on the front of them. Of course my neighbours were at the show," he chuckles.
He has a new TV project coming to RTE this summer and is currently developing a new comedy. He also stars in the feature film The Belly of the Whale, which will be released later this year. Also starring Scottish actor Lewis MacDougall and Belfast's Michael Smiley, in the film he plays a down-and-out with psychosis, who devises a plan to rob a small town amusement arcade.
Music is still important to Shortt, who once played cornet in the brass section of The Saw Doctors. Last year he reformed his Liquid Blues band – in which he plays saxophone – and they will be doing a number of festivals across Ireland this summer.
Away from work, he ensures he doesn't burn out by enjoying sailing, fishing and motorcyling. He owns four motorbikes, including a huge Harley-Davidson for touring.
"I'm heading to Helsinki the day after I finish the tour in Northern Ireland," says Shortt, who also plans to cross the Himalayas on a motorbike.
Good idea for a TV show?
"No, no. I want a break," he shouts.
Shortt, who turns 50 this year, believes his best work is yet to come – but he's not stressing over the future.
"I never have dream roles, though I wouldn't mind being a cowboy – you get to ride a horse and shoot guns. That would be fun."
He could always write that role himself, I suggest?
"Yeah, if you film it in Newport, Co Tipperary, up on the mountains on a horse," he chuckles.
:: Pat Shortt is currently on tour with How's Tings? Upcoming venues include Armagh, Enniskillen, Derry, Cookstown and Belfast's Waterfront Studio. For full details visit www.patshortt.com
