'Listening to Bishop talk about his father - passionate, thoughtful, realistic - you realize that finding the humour in terminal illness sounds like a rather noble way of looking at both life and death'- Irish Times
For years acclaimed comedian Des Bishop wanted to write a show about his father. Mike Bishop was a model and actor who gave up that life to become a hard-working man of the suburbs - a good husband, a caring father, a responsible citizen. Still, he sometimes talked wistfully about the glamourous life he might have had. But after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in late 2009, Mike's regrets about his fantasy other life crumbled. He cherished his family and they came together to surround him with love, laughter, tears and talk. Lots of talk.
The insights that emerged during Mike Bishop's illness became the show his son always wanted to stage. He and his father collaborated on My Dad Was Nearly James Bond- a hilarious, outrageous and moving celebration of what Des calls 'the heroics of fatherhood'. The show has attracted rave reviews and sell-out audiences around the world. Mike Bishop died in February 2011.
