On cats

From Live At The Apollo 2011

More Ed Byrne videos

Ed Byrne: Crowd Pleaser
Live Review

Crowd-pleaser is a double-edged sword. For a comedian, that’s pretty much the job description, but it’s not breaking any secrets to admit us critics often use it in a more backhanded way, to suggest an act who’s pressing the audience’s buttons but doesn’t do much creatively.

Well, Ed Bryne’s new offering is definitely a Ronseal show. But does it do what it says in the title with easy, unchallenging, observational shtick? Well, yes, a bit – but there’s also humour here that transcends the comfortable origins of the material.

Much of the show revolves around just three things that he has: a wife, a baby son and a pet cat. This is about as domestic as you can get, yet he manages to see new things in these much-analysed, universal topics. His take on the was his Missus demands household chores be done might not push the envelope, but he finds a nice hook on which to hang it all, while the routine about why we like cats more than people, unpromising as that premise might seem, actually produces a virtuoso routine even non-cat owners will identify with.

Babies are often seen as the creative kiss of death for comedians, and indeed Byrne’s talk of his seven-month-old is all puke, shit and piss – although he focussing on the pressure with which these secretions are emitted, rather than their foul content, so it doesn’t feel as if we’ve heard this particular angle before.

Yes, sometimes he doesn’t try too hard. After all, he gets a laugh by saying ‘Piers Morgan, who’s a cock…’ so why struggle for left-field insight? Some of the vaguely topical pieces about the Coalition government and the Irish attitude to immigration seem a little mundane, and he perhaps oversells a weird encounter with the now-dead Star Trek actor Paul Wingfield.

This comes as part of a section where he flaunts his nerd credentials – nerd as in liking sci-fi and video games, rather than actually understanding science – and there’s a nice flourish to the way he teases fellow geeks in the audience with the pedantry he knows they are feeling.

Talking of which, he applies such finicky principles to a T-shirt he saw a young teenager wearing – the second routine about age-inappropriate clothing he spotted in an airport in as many shows; but just as funny as the first.

Crowd Pleaser doesn’t have the benefit of the same strong, central theme that his last tour Different Class was built around; but it’s founded on robustly solid routines, with enough smart flourishes to avoid the predictable. You will be entertained.

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I cant stand this man. He is a totally unfunny, sexist little irish man who clearly drinks and smokes too much

Summer, April 2005

Hugely disappointing live - I'd heard good things and from what I'd seen on TV I was hopeful, but Ed failed to deliver with tired, lazy material - seeing him as part of the Glasgow comedy festival alongside the likes of Stewart Lee and Daniel Kitson only highlighted that fact. Time for Ed to up his game or stick to TV voiceovers and panto.

Louise, April 2005

Saw Ed a couple of weeks ago in Glasgow and was very dissapointed, tired old gags some of which I remember from the first time I saw him about five years ago, he perked up a bit when interacting with the audience but seriously how many times do we have to hear about his really really beautiful ex? He should either quit the crap on TV and work on some new material or give up the stand-up. A lazy, mercifully short set.

Ian, April 2005

I've never laughed so much in my life, I think he's brilliant, a fan for life.

Stacey, April 2005

Absolutely hilarious and just a bit gorgeous. Brilliant set, the audience loved him

Melissa, March 2005

Saw him last night in Nottingham where he totally won the place over and got called back for several encores. He came across as natural and a genuinely warm and funny guy.

Sarah, March 2005

Saw him at Hempel last night, I was really disappointed. No new material and he just seemed so angry at the world. What happened to the very funny and happy Irish kid who was so great 5 years ago. The theatre wasnt even nearly full and I was very let down by him.

Eva Barnett, February 2005

Brillant, funny , charming, Irish. a class act all the way.

Trish, January 2005

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