Cork date for New York cabbie show

FOR the first time, John McDonagh, aka ‘Johnny Two Pints’, is coming to Cork - for one night only on Tuesday, October 10 - to perform his hit show Off The Meter, On The Record at the Cork Arts Theatre.

The show is both a humorous and poignant personal odyssey of his life driving a yellow taxi cab through the hustle and bustle of the New York streets for 40 years.

Under the direction of Ciarán O’Reilly, it has wowed audiences at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York, as well as at theatres across the U.S.

The show won the First Origin Theatre Spirit Award in 2022 and featured at the Sean O’Casey Community Centre Theatre in Dublin before capacity crowds, where it was very well received.

John hadn’t exactly nurtured notions of embracing a thespian life, but his natural enthusiasm for fun and great gift for storytelling took hold, and with a few chance encounters along the way his new career as a performer began.

“ I started telling stories of my experiences as a cab driver at sessions at Rocky Sullivan’s bar and then driving became something I enjoyed more talking about than actually doing.

I started writing some of the stories down and reading them to the dog, then brought them to U.S writers and artists salons and got great encouragement to keep going.

“So I ended up from the bar stool to the boards, and two years later wound up in a place I never thought I’d be in all my wildest dreams - on stage at The Irish Repertory Theatre.”

John is really looking forward to his first visit to Cork. His mother hails from Donegal, and his father from Tyrone, and as a small boy he spent a lot of time at the family farm in Donegal.

He often comes back to ‘The Old Country’ to visit family, and last year stopped in Dublin - for a hilarious reason.

Irishman Shane Gaffney had given him an IOU in 2013, promising him two pints of Guinness in a Dublin pub owned by his parents.

“I spent $700 to fly 3,000 miles over to Ireland last year in order to claim the two free pints,” laughs John. “I got the nickname ‘Johnny Two Pints’ after that.

The story hit the headlines all over the world, I even made it to Fox TV, Piers Morgan got the story too, it hit the Australian press, and of course when I was in Dublin Guinness Storehouse invited me on a tour.

John began his career as a yellow cab driver when he returned after serving in the U.S army in Germany during the Vietnam war.

“I grew up with one foot in Queens, the other on a sheep farm in Donegal, but I am a city kid at heart. I love New York, the fast pace of the city that never sleeps, and after so many years of driving the cab, working all hours day and night, I still get up at 3am.”

Off The Meter, On The record is a pithy social commentary where he describes encounters he’s had with people from all walks of life, the good, the bad, and the downright dangerous.

John says: “I saw my life pass before my eyes on two occasions, once when I had a gun put to my head, and another time I had a pick put against the side of my neck while the money was taken from my shirt pocket. 

After that, I thought it was probably not a good idea to let passengers ride in the front seat of my cab.

“Despite those dangerous moments, I can’t think of a better place to watch the world go by then from behind the wheel of a New York city yellow taxi.

“During my 40 years driving I have seen a lot of changes in this profession. Once upon a time getting your hack licence meant you would have enough to a family. Now drivers can barely make enough to pay the lease fee at the end of the 12 hour shift.”

When I started out in the ’70s after being honourably discharged from the army, the first thing I did was join the taxi union.”

Described by The New York Times as the ‘Bard of Gridlock’, 40 years of driving through the pollution in New York City has taken its toll on John. 

“I don’t think my lungs are great due to all the pollution in the city,” he says.

“If anyone is wondering what it’s like to be a cab driver, then if you are sitting down right now, you’re off to a good start. Stay sitting for the next 12 hours.”

He appeared with Stephen Fry on his six-part BBC series Stephen Fry In America, where the actor traversed the USA in his black London cab, and Fry couldn’t have had a better guide to New York.

John has also featured on Top Gear with Richard Hammond and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and is a board member of the Irish American Writers and Artists.

John also co-hosts a weekly Sunday radio show, Radio Free Eireann with Malachy McCourt, on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York.

John and Malachy invited Cork writer Cónal Creedon for a radio interview after they had seen his play, The Cure, performed at the iconic ‘Arlene’s Grocery” in the Lower East side, and now Cónal will be hosting a Q&A with John after the show next week, which promises to be a great night out with two wonderful raconteurs.

Off the Meter, On the Record, October 10, 8pm, Cork Arts Theatre, 021- 4505624. John will also be performing at the Abbey Art Centre in Ballyshannon Donegal on October 6 and Teachers Club in Dublin on October 14.