Paul Byrne – Original Review

Note: This review is from 2005

Review by Steve Bennett

It doesn’t take much to spot Byrne’s inexperience on the stage; his jittery manner gives away his very obvious nervousness from the very start.

Luckily, such jumpiness fits well into his persona as a weirdo freak persona. Not that he’s one of those comedy ‘I’m so nuts, me’ characters, mind you – he’s the sort of person you genuinely believe may be an unhinged psychopath And as he sadistically attacks bread, rages against camels or befriends a grapefruit with a human face, that impression can only be reinforced.

It’s disturbing all right – and sometimes a bit too much so, a routine on necrophilia, for instance, forgetting to mix the sick with some humour.

Yet he shows a lot of promise, with a nice turn of phrase to match the distinctively surreal material. If he’s this good after a handful of gigs, he should be a comedic force to be reckoned with after a couple of years worth. Just don’t have nightmares.

Review date: 14 Apr 2005
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

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