ED Byrne kicked off his show by telling us his name is an anagram of ‘be nerdy’. The Irish stand-up was keen to prove just how apt this was by punctuating his performance with a number of geeky observations.
From the ‘nerd porn’ of Wonders of the Universe posterboy Brian Cox, to Star Trek, to the subtle computer game branding on his T-shirt, it quickly became apparent that Byrne’s subject matter was far from cutting edge.
It became even less so when he moved on to talk about his decidedly unglamorous experience of marriage and becoming a father.
“I live with two people and both of them leak”, Byrne said, before reflecting on his pregnant wife’s forgetful ‘baby brain’, the intense pressure seemingly affecting his tiny son’s bodily functions and the various dead animals dragged into the family house by the mangy cat they found by the bins.
Safe or not, Byrne’s every day observations were charmingly funny and most of the audience, which was made up of a wide age-range, were in the palm of his hand.
When he did touch on more controversial matters, such as the death of Bin Laden, he was noticeably less confident and the laughter was tentative.
A veteran stand-up and regular on television panel shows, Byrne knows where his appeal lies. He is masterful in spotting humour in the banal which means that he has a broad appeal. That the audience left smiling indicated the crowd pleasing comedian had achieved what he set out to do.
Ed Byrne plays the Grand Opera House, York, for a second night tonight at 7.30pm. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or grandoperahouseyork.org.uk
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