Review by Steve Bennett

Despite being being billed as an hour of sit-down comedy, Brendan Burke very, very rarely sits down.  Instead, he is an effusive bundle of onstage energy and natural wit that creates an impressive comic performance, even if he is being force to compensate for a lack of  originality in his subject matter.

There is neither theme nor structure, with the audience being held hostage to Burke’s thought  process. It is not a bad experience, just an extremely breathless and often completely random journey through both pre-written material and enthusiastic audience participation.

The show’s real strength is in Burke’s delivery and performance, as he appears to be one of life’s natural comedians. His mostly recounts anecdotes, accentuated by his knowledgeable manipulation of rhythm and animated demeanour.  Even when you inherently know that everything is scripted, there is still something that believes that Burke is improvising, spontaneously recalling anecdotes from his memory.

This energy and illusion of spontaneity lends itself well to Burke’s talent for audience banter, something that he exploits to full effect. Within seconds of walking onto stage, he is literally in the audience, inches away from people’s faces, complimenting and insulting them in equal measure. 

He even, at one point, breaks the golden rule of comedy by giving a slightly disruptive audience member the stage in order to act as the comedian.  He expertly controls the potentially disastrous situation – further highlighting his skill with audiences – by keeping himself as the centre of attention, no matter where he is located in the theatre.

For all of these strengths, though, Burke’s routines are non-descript, encompassing topics that have already been performed to death.  Much of his subject matter centres on Ireland, but nothing is ever really pushed beyond the description of a culture of bad tempers and alcohol.  The strength of his performance is enough to carry the show through with a smile, but on paper at least, the show never really surprises or greatly impresses.

An entertaining, if not startling, late-night endeavour.

Review date: 1 Jan 2005
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett