Review by Steve Bennett

Andrew Stanley's a regular compere in the clubs of Ireland, and that grounding shows through in his set. Almost every topic has its roots in a standard MC's question: Anyone in from overseas? Well, just so happens he's got material on how foreigners always see Ireland as a land of fiddles, drunks and Riverdance. Anyone drinking? He's got a tale about that, too. Anyone in a relationship? You guessed it...

The problem with this is that it lends an air of familiarity to almost everything he talks about. Can there be much more to be said about how love's early excitement fades over the course of a relationship, or about buying stupid things when drunk? Possibly, but Stanley doesn't find them.

What he does, do, though is tell these things from a personal standpoint; by sharing first-hand anecdotes of nights out or travelling the globe. And he's an engaging, upbeat conversationalist animated, friendly and happy to involve the audience in his set-ups; it’s that compering experience shining through again. He comes across as a nice guy you're happy to spend time with.

He will, surely, always work as an MC, such is his easy manner. But if he wants to be able to do sets, too, he needs to work on finding more distinctive routines the actual compere isn't also likely to touch on.

Review date: 3 Jun 2007
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett