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With as much explosive energy as a medium-sized thermonuclear device, Byrne unleashes a non-stop tirade of indignant fury that steamrollers his audience into submission. This fast-talking Irishman rages against anything and everything, seamlessly incorporating off-the-cuff comments about the night with topics that have clearly troubled his overactive imagination for some time. He's a master improviser, taking even the slightest noise or someone's tone of voice to launch into a tirade. But he's no angry young man railing against the system, rather he cuts a Basil Fawltyish figure, driven to the brink of insanity by trivial everyday frustrations. And as he retells them, with impressive physicality, he berates his audience for their stupidity every step of the way. And how powerful that mock fury is, the sheer force of his performance compelling even the most reluctant of audiences to listen in.Woe betide any punter with the temerity not to comply with whatever madcap stunt he's suddenly conjured up. Without that force, the quality of the material might not stand up to much scrutiny - but you are honestly too engrossed, and too busy laughing, to care.
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