From its origins as a minutes-long radio comedy during the 1980s through to a cult TV success and a live stage show, Give My Head Peace has been providing comedic relief in Northern Ireland for decades.
And for Tim McGarry, one of the writers, the key to keeping the comedy classic "fresh" for audiences in 2025 lies in the way the "old fashioned" characters see the world.
Taking time out of rehearsals ahead of a run in venues across Northern Ireland, starting in Coleraine next weekend, the comedian sat down with Belfast Live and hinted at jokes about Kneecap, 'Michelle and Emma's' fondness for a photograph, with Donald Trump even set to make an appearance.
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"Everything shaping up well so far, I think it is indeed," he said of the rehearsals. "Well, the first couple of days are always a bit slower. People are learning their lines and getting off book as we say, which means you don't have the script in your hand, but we're, we're pretty pleased. We think it's funny, which is always a good sign.
"I'm the worrier. I'm one of the writers. I'm always the one going, oh, I'm not sure this is funny enough. And then I get it into the rehearsal studio and the actors read it out and I go, no, we're all right. So we're all right this year again. We have a funny show. If we do it right and learn our lines and don't bump into the furniture, everybody will have a good time."
Asked about keeping the show up to date, he said: "That is a big challenge. I mean some of it is slightly formulaic. The way we structure the show, we have very silly plots. The plots are very thin and very, very silly but we keep up to date with what's happening in politics in Northern Ireland at the time.
"So there'd be jokes about KNEECAP and the BAFTAs and things like that. There'll be jokes about Michelle and Emma and getting their photograph taken with everybody all the time. There'll be jokes about the Say Nothing and Gerry Adams and all of that sort of stuff. So we keep up to date and the news always keeps us going, gives us plenty of plot lines.
"But you're right. I mean, it is a problem keeping it fresh. And that's the thing about the Give Head Peace live show. It's a brand new show every single year, you know, so even if you watch the TV, you won't know or you won't recognise any of it. It's all brand new and for the first time we're, we're playing it to an audience - and that's the joy of it."
He continued: "We do a tour every year and we're kind of used to it by now, but we keep it fresh as well and I do a bit of stand-up as well in the middle of it. So even in the middle of the month, you know we can change things about it and I can add bits and pieces in the stand-up as well so we keep it as fresh as possible."
He also suggested the way the characters see the world plays a big role.
"They're larger than life characters, but yes, they're very much much characters who are slightly old fashioned," he said. "But they do live in 2025. So they are aware of Donald Trump. Donald Trump actually makes an appearance on the show as well. So we're looking at Northern Ireland through the lens of these characters who are very well known and very well loved.
"The character of Ma is kind of timeless because there are horrible husbands who treat their wives badly like my poor Ma, long-suffering as she is. And still, no matter what you say about Northern Ireland, we're still a very bitterly divided society in many ways. We still have segregated schools and all that, and you have a fuss there about the recruitment of the police and how many Catholics are in the police and all of that sort of stuff. I accept that these characters have been going for a long time, but they also reflect modern society. We keep them bang up to date and they're saying stuff that is relevant to 2025. They're not talking about the troubles all the time. We're talking about 2025."
The tour begins with two nights at the Riverside Theatre in Coleraine, on Febuary 27 and 28, and takes in dates in all six counties in Northern Ireland, with performances also set for Castleblaney and Dun Laoghaire in the south.
"We go all over the north, you know, from north to south and east to west," Tim McGarry said. "We travel all over the place and wherever the audience is, we find them."
Asked what audiences can expect from the brand new show this year, he said: "They're going to get the main characters off the TV like Manda and Pastor Beggy and Billy the Peer, and, you know, they're going to get a bit of slapstick, a bit of in-your-face comedy. There's going to be direct talking to the audience. There's going to be fun, there's going to be satire. There's gonna be a few songs as well in it and we're, we're really looking forward to it. This is the hard bit is as they say, the rehearsals, but once we're up and running it's going to be fun. The first show in Coleraine, the 27th and 28th, I think they both sold out actually the Coleraine shows, which is nice. Once we get those under our belt then we can relax a bit and just enjoy ourselves for the rest of the run for - we're doing 29 shows, I think, bloody hell - 29 shows."
The following dates and venues have been announced:
Thursday 27 February & Friday 28 February: Riverside Theatre, Coleraine Saturday 01 March & Sunday 02 March: Theatre at the Mill, Newtownabbey Tuesday 04 March: The Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen Wednesday 05 March & Thursday 06 March: Millennium Forum, Derry Friday 07 March: Down Arts Centre, Downpatrick Saturday 08 March: Alley Theatre, Strabane Sunday 09 March: Strule Arts Centre, Omagh Tuesday 11 March: Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre, Limavady Wednesday 12 March & Thursday 13 March: The Market Place, Armagh Friday 14 March: Island Hall, Lisburn Saturday 15 March: Iontas, Castleblayney Sunday 16 March: The Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire Wednesday 19 March: The Old Courthouse, Antrim Thursday 20 March: The Braid, Ballymena Friday 21 March & Saturday 22 March: Burnavon Theatre, Cookstown Monday 24 March to Saturday 29 March: The Grand Opera House, Belfast
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