Review: Ed Byrne: Crowd Pleaser – Newcastle City Hall

Ed Byrne

Ed Byrne’s latest offering, Crowd Pleaser, echoes the format of his previous shows, providing a collection of middle of the road observations – on family, relationships, gender, life – punctuated by some skilful bantering with the enthusiastic crowd.

Filmed for his 2011 DVD, Byrne’s performance at Newcastle’s City Hall was naturally a stop-start affair. However he handled it with minimum fuss, and was at ease with the added pressure throughout the night. Byrne’s delivery was pitch-perfect, his act is accessible enough.

There are some fine routines in the show, too. Byrne’s extended comparison between cats and tramps is sublime writing, full of laughs. Likewise, his routine on Lib Dem and Conservative ‘mums’ was a rare political treat and exemplified the cynical edge to his comedy.

But more often than not Byrne came across as too cynical, too sarcastic and, specifically with his routines on ‘chip and pin’ and ‘misogynistic adverts’, quite childish. There was also more than enough adult humour in Crowd Pleaser to furnish a traditional weekend club set, with every other anecdote seemingly a pullback to a dick joke.

In truth, Crowd Pleaser is a prime example of personality triumphing over material. While the show is enjoyable enough, bursting with Byrne’s geekish energy and a decent amount of laughs, there is something inherently unfulfilling about this performance. Ed Byrne is a crowd pleaser – there is no doubt about that – but he seems reluctant to venture beyond an increasingly outdated comedic set-up and really challenge his audience.