Novelty Dancing

From BBC Comedy

More Carl Donnelly videos

Winner of the 2006 Laughing Horse new act competition, the 2007 Chortle Award for best newcomer and the 2007 Leicester Mercury Comedian Of The Year.

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Carl Donnelly?
Live Review

You might not think it to look at him now, but Carl Donnelly used to be a drunken lout who ran amok in Magaluf every summer and dabbled in shoplifting. It’s a far cry from his affable stand-up persona of a benign fool bumbling through a series of embarrassing incidents as best he can.

Behaviour and its consequences is the closest this loose hour gets to a theme. But it is never likely to be a high-concept show, rather a collection of entertaining anecdotes that Donnelly insists on telling unembellished, even if it mean they peter out rather than reaching conveniently neat conclusions.

After a lengthy preamble he settles into his stories proper, with mellow attitude disguising the fact he’s subtly emphasising anything that might heighten the sense of embarrassment or preposterousness of the yarns.

Sometimes, I’m not sure I share his conviction that the stories are worth repeating – but the best ones are indeed brilliant. His closing routine about the incident at the Alicia Keys concert is comedy gold, strong enough to win over any audience. A man unexpectedly having an ice cream in the woods doesn’t quite have the same impact.

Most the stories have no meaning, and are none the worse for that, though he briefly ponders the nature of fame and makes a fine point about the tabloid treatment of John Terry. Issues, though, are not what he’s about.

Although a talented comic with a distinctive voice, Donnelly appears to be suffering difficult second show syndrome. After mining a career’s worth of material for his acclaimed debut last year, the follow-up that he has to put together in just 12 months doesn’t quite realise the potential of the first. Nonetheless this is an entertaining hour, easy to enjoy, hard to hate and safe primetime bet.

Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3

He got voted off in a democratic election last night at Komedia in Brighton, I think you can gauge a comedian's skill by their ability to deal with hecklers. Simply calling them the C word as a comeback isn't going to earn him any brownie points with the audience

Harrison, September 2012

Please play Liverpool, am desperate to see you live, the five-minute slots on Comedy Store are not long enough. Why have you not been on mainstream tv yet?

Al, July 2011

This guy is rocking it like it is 1973.

Slim Thug # 2, March 2011

Saw his Edinburgh preview in Darlington on Sunday. Carl is a natural entertainer, with some very good material. For my money he’s a must-see for Edinburgh this year.

Colin, July 2009

Just saw Carl's Edinburgh show preview and must say I was very impressed. Carl got off to a terrible start with a awful Hussain Bolt/Baby gag however, Carl's ability to adlib so well soon got him back on the audiences side and he soon had the room laughing with a very good set. A few tweeks here and there and this show should be well on its way to a lot of good reviews.

Craig Ratcliffe, June 2009

Saw Carl Bubbly in The Pavillion in Porthcawl. What a funny fella. Nearly got hysterical at one point I was laughing so much - it was the lettuce that nearly tipped me over the edge. Would go see him again anytime. Fab.

Ryn, June 2008

Saw this guy at London's Round Table and loved every minute. Really good audience rapport, really silly sense of humour. He may not be the wittiest comic around but he certainly works for me.

Michael Monkhouse, May 2008

Significantly wonderful

Steve Hall, May 2008

Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3