one4review | On 26, Aug 2026

Starting with a smart VT , Roger O’Sullivan is back with his trademark excellent blocky computer graphics. This time, though, he seems to be fighting Beelzebub and guests who have sold their souls for the pleasures they desired. Was it worth it?
His material moves comfortably between the personal and the surreal. Still, this year the focus is firmly on his “peasant mindset”, growing up in Cork and the feeling that he was never really going to amount to anything, as if something was always pulling him back.

From colonial unity with other cultures to the grim fascination of RIP.ie death notices, discovering that life contains rather a lot of North/South divides, and his frankly brilliant Catholic Church computer game, O’Sullivan finds comedy in some wonderfully unanticipated places.

Running through the narrative is a lack of belief in himself and his choices. When success happens, in any form, there’s always a suspicion that something may come along to derail it. This gives the show a warm thread beneath the comedy musings, as O’Sullivan turns those doubts into some of his best material.

Last year, O’Sullivan proved he was something of a comedy Rocky, the underdog who keeps punching above his weight. Divel May Care feels like the plot of Rocky 2 in both design and spirit. Our hero is back, but the obstacles have changed, with new arseholes emerging as he tries to create success on his own terms.

It’s a sharply constructed show from one of the finest Irish comedians working in the UK. So, for next year, I wouldn’t rule out seeing O’Sullivan taking on Mr T in a Rocky 3 Nintendo deathmatch.
****
Reviewed by Steve H
17.35 to 18.15
Monkey Barrel 2
Until 30th August