Comedy review: Ed Byrne

Published on 07/04/2011 19:31

ED BYRNE: CROWD PLEASER CLYDE AUDITORIUM, GLASGOW ***

GLASGOW is where Ed Byrne began his lengthy stand-up career and the Irishman seemed genuinely grateful to be playing to his largest-ever crowd on Wednesday night. Regular panel show slots have consolidated his appeal in the UK, even if not with the Lithuanian bouncers in his native Dublin.

Still, he's eager to convey the idea that he's part of a marginalised sub-set – specifically, a nerd.

An invitation to the audience to name celebrities they've met who've turned out to be "arseholes" preceded his own tale of meeting a minor yet extremely bitter Star Trek actor, a well-observed anecdote that segued into his thoughts on the misogyny of Boots adverts.

Volubly right-on, then cheekily undercutting his feminist credentials, it was here that Byrne got to the nub of his show – adapting to the mood-swings and mental safaris of his pregnant wife and the changes wrought by their son's arrival.

This segment was engaging enough, but it was far more satisfying when he returned to a theme from his previous show, that of age-inappropriate kids clothing. Hackles raised by a 13-year-old boy's T-shirt, proclaiming "I love pussy like a fat girl love (sic] cake," he demolished the garment's credibility on five fronts, ranging from grammatical pedantry to the complex interplay of impulses informing sexual desire.