The Blindboy Podcast Live

Blindboy Boatclub brings The Blindboy Podcast Live to The Pavilion Theatre on Wednesday 28 October, with a surprise special guest joining him on stage. It's a live recording of the award-winning storytelling podcast, which Boatclub describes as 'the podcast hug' — a form that intertwines history, fiction, cultural critique and politics. He places it in the Irish tradition of the Seanchaí, the old-school storyteller who could hold a room for hours.

If you've never come across it, the podcast is a bit of a cultural phenomenon, with The New York Times calling it just that. It's the creative summation of Boatclub's work as a polymath — he's a bestselling author, screenwriter, songwriter, musician, producer and academic, and the show has drawn more than 60 million listeners globally. The live recordings have played from Toronto to Galway, and they're consistently sold-out affairs. He stages them in a hushed, intimate atmosphere that he says is meant to replicate a private conversation in a public space, and every show brings a surprise special guest.

So, on the night, you're not just watching a performance; you're inside a recording of the show itself. The guest is kept under wraps until the evening, and the whole thing is built around that same storytelling tradition he talks about. It's a long way from a standard stand-up set or a lecture, and the 'podcast hug' description gives you a fair idea of the tone he's after.

It starts at 7.30pm at The Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street in the city centre, and tickets are £34.50.