Comedy review: Patrick Monahan - Shooting from the Lip!, Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14), Edinburgh

BY the time Pat Monahan reaches the stage, there is just so much love in the room for him it is amazing he isn’t pregnant.

Patrick Monahan – Shooting from the Lip!

Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14)

HHH

Touching and hugging are very important to Pat, he tells us. We know. After the hugging there is the chatting – to the Iranian man near the door, some of his “regulars”, the drunk boys from Falkirk on the balcony. I lost count. In the midst of the social whirl there is the occasional snippet of material – the strictness of Irish parents, his grandad’s eating habits – and then a short blast of what I assume is the actual show, concerning summertime and women in cardigans.

At every turn, though, he is distracted by a contact he makes with the audience. In the middle of what was a promising section on Teeside councils closing down one in five shops in a “use it or lose it” approach to the high streets of the region, Monahan organises a photoshoot for a man in the front row, interrupting the routine. But no-one seems to worry. Except me.

There is the hint of a section on relationships and how to make them last, proposals and a finale that involves spooning. Monahan is a supremely engaging performer, adored by his audiences and capable of some terrific comedy. I’m thinking Ritalin…?

• Until 27 August. Today 8pm.