Paul Byrne – Original Review
Note: This review is from 2005
Review by Steve Bennett
It doesn’t take much to spot Byrne’s inexperience on the stage; his jittery manner gives away his very obvious nervousness from the very start.
Luckily, such jumpiness fits well into his persona as a weirdo freak persona. Not that he’s one of those comedy ‘I’m so nuts, me’ characters, mind you – he’s the sort of person you genuinely believe may be an unhinged psychopath And as he sadistically attacks bread, rages against camels or befriends a grapefruit with a human face, that impression can only be reinforced.
It’s disturbing all right – and sometimes a bit too much so, a routine on necrophilia, for instance, forgetting to mix the sick with some humour.
Yet he shows a lot of promise, with a nice turn of phrase to match the distinctively surreal material. If he’s this good after a handful of gigs, he should be a comedic force to be reckoned with after a couple of years worth. Just don’t have nightmares.
Review date: 14 Apr 2005
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
