(5 / 5)
It’s worth starting this review with saying I am a huge fan of Jason Byrne. I couldn’t tell you when I first started watching him but it was in the days of only being able to access youtube clips and I have been lucky enough to see him before at Leicester Square Theatre. From these, I knew I would be in for something special and completely chaotic.
Byrne’s show aims to celebrate his 30 years in the business and particularly at Ed Fringe. While taking our seats, we are welcomed by images and clips of him in his career, be it as a young budding comedian or on panel shows. We see young faces of well known comedians, reminding us of this little community and all of these images elicit a kind of historical interest as well as prompting laughter – it’s like these are in place of a warm up act.
Byrne bursts onto the stage in a blades of glory – in just his pants and a vest and flying on a Miley Cyrus wrecking ball, he gets the audience involved immediately with dragging someone up to push him. The inability of the person to do this well prompts immediate comedy from Byrne who is so quick witted and fast to the punch on comedy. I’ll be honest, I don’t think the show we end up seeing is what we were meant to get – what feels potentially like a completely off-piste show is without guidance because Byrne is so quick to engage and tease audience members, creating in time new material. It comes so naturally to him and within minutes, we are in actual pain from laughing so hard.
His attempts to return back to the planned show are attempted but something always catches his eye. This is by no means a criticism and what we get, we know no one else ever will. But he does try to get back on track, and so some of his act returns, with just as much humour as his improv. From the general feeling, when he quickly throws in some of the planned show, there was going to be an attempt at showcasing some of his old acts throughout the years – so when the badger game comes up, those of us who know his past work are excited to actually get to see this again. And it’s just as ludicrous and hilarious as the first time. IYKYK.
Byrne is a master at the audience interaction; as any comedian, this isn’t always polite or complimentary, but it’s done still with affection and friendliness, like a friend sharing banter with you and taking the mick. It sometimes triggers reflections on his life and especially his Irish heritage and upbringing. While not Irish, but with very close Irish friends, I can only comment on how much I understood the referencing and how funny I found it because of this. But I do imagine, even a complete novice to Irish culture would find this comedic purely in how Byrne presents it, in the unique comedy style that only he has.
Jason Byrne is probably one of the most hilarious comedians there ever has been. Each show you get with him is bound to be unique to any other, with his fantastic ability to bounce off his own distractions and his perfect ability to come up with new material on the spot. A show that makes you genuinely come away thinking you’ve gained a 6 pack from laughing so damn hard.
