LAST night top Irish comedian and Mock the Week favourite Ed Byrne brought his latest stand-up tour Outside, Looking In to The Lowry. Our entertainment reporter Emily Murray was there to see what all the crack was about…
We are all used to seeing Byrne regularly on our television screens due to his frequent appearances on BBC panel shows such as Mock the Week and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. So you could be forgiven for forgetting that Byrne is predominantly a stand-up comedian and has been a favourite on the British comedy circuit for the duration of his 22 years long career. And as his latest show, Outside, Looking In, proves, Byrne is here to stay and as funny as ever.
The show, which achieved critical acclaim and huge success at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, does start off rather strangely though. The Irish comedian begins with telling the audience about the moments he has, what he calls, ‘died on stage’. It is certainly a bizarre way to start off a gig, telling the audience you are meant to entertain about past audiences who you did not manage to receive a single laugh from.
However, throw in some jokes about bankers and Audi drivers and the audience are quickly won over. Byrne also takes the mick out of himself for starting off his gig in this peculiar way and so the risk pays off as we are taken with his honest charm.
Had a fun evening watching Ed Byrne at the Lowry. I shall be in bed within 30 seconds of getting home though.
— Louise Cheese (@cheese_fancier) March 10, 2016
From then on in we are greeted by a series of humorous anecdotes about dating to family life, all of which keep the audience chuckling and smiling until the very end.
See, Byrne’s real talent is for picking up on the funny side of ordinary life and turning the usually mundane into something quite hilarious. There is nothing refreshingly new about his material to be fair, the majority of comedians concentrate on relationships and family. However, Byrne approaches the topics in a neat way mixing up observational comedy and irony picking up on everyday things that people do that are in fact comical.
For example, his questioning over why people have job interviews in Costa and how members of the public react to parents taking their small children into cafes is all something that the audience can engage in meaning that they are left in uproarious laughter.
Great show tonight by @MrEdByrne at @The_Lowry! But there was no need to slate Beatrix and her bunnies ??
— Lucy McLane (@mclane_lucy) March 10, 2016
Certain gags do stand out whilst others can fall rather flat. Byrne’s description of his medical appointment with a couple of student doctors got the audience howling whilst his engagement with the audience over their past dating experiences made for an awkward atmosphere.
What Outside, Looking In could have done with was more structure to ensure that the jokes were less hit and miss and the show flowed better. Only towards the end did we get a real sense that the show had a structure as we ended with a lovable story about Byrne’s young son’s choice of shoes. A lovely anecdote to end on that brought a chuckle and a smile to the audience it was the perfect ending to the show.
By Emily Murray
@EmilyVMurray
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