Abie Philbin Bowman
What was your best holiday?I went to Stockholm last October to open a tour for Swedish comedian Magnus Betnér. It's such a beautiful city, with lots of islands. We rented the equivalent of Dublin bikes to cycle around them. It was amazing. The city was fascinating, a lovely place to be, well-organised with amazing sushi. We saw this incredible warship Vasa from the 1620s. It was so badly designed that it sank in the harbour within an hour . But because of that fiasco it was retrieved and now an entire museum has been built around it. It is an enormous monument to both human ingenuity and fallibility. The gig was one of the best and that was a bonus – although speaking slowly was a bit of a challenge for me!
What was your worst holiday?Going with my parents to a small French seaside town when I was 17. It was the age where I was too old to be in a "boring" town doing nothing for three weeks. I climbed trees, read Jack Kerouac, wrote a screen play about a massacre and listened to Radiohead. I felt trapped in a small town while the rest of the world was happening. It was a family holiday too far; the following year I didn't go.
If budget or work were no restriction, what would be your dream holiday?The great thing about my job is getting to travel and not feeling guilty about it. So my absolute fantasy trip is to make a documentary about the history of non-violent revolution and tell the stories of the places of historical significance: where Daniel O'Connell's speeches happened; Gandhi's salt march; the Prague Spring; and Saul Alinsky in Chicago.
Who would you take on holiday with you if you had your pick?I'd love to go with Scarlett Johansson's character from Lost in Translation, it would be fun and interesting with someone who is outrageously gorgeous, give or take a few plot twists.
What's your favourite place in Ireland?I'm a city boy so I quite like living in Dublin. Camden Street's a nice part of town with a mix of grungy and nice energy. I also have a certain grá for Galway and its welcoming, artsy feel that life is too important to be taken seriously.
Recommended holiday reading?I'm currently enjoying Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It's a really well-drawn portrait of Lincoln and the one book Obama said he would take to the White House. It shows how different the world was back then and lays bare human emotion, and what ambition does to people. There's also a nice connection because I'm named after him.
Where will you go next?I'm off to a bunch of different festivals, including ones in Yorkshire and Stockholm, as it is festival season.
In conversation with GENEVIEVE CARBERY
Comedian Abie Philbin Bowman's latest show The Revolution Will Be Televised, ReTweeted Available on 40d runs at ABSOLUT Fringe 2012 Sep 8th-23rd fringefest.com