Review by Julia Chamberlain

You might happily listen to Neil Dougan all night, he’s blessed with a Belfast drawl and has the familiar easy, unsentimental eloquence of the Northern Irish.

Rough Rared is a Belfast saying meaning ‘brought up in an ungentle, although not uncaring fashion’ so I was expecting an entertaining, vernacular show, maybe something between a misery memoir and Across The Barricades but with a comic slant. What I got was a more clubby set interspersed with some generalizations about Northern Irish life and culture, contrasting then (his ‘illegal’ childhood) and now (his children’s experience).

It’s a simple approach and if you haven’t seen him before you will enjoy his turns of phrase and anecdotes. There are no startlingly original stories, either of a personal nature or in terms of social observation.

His strong suit is being able to suggest a personality – a fundamentalist street corner orator for example in a few phrases, or in as few words suggest a whole world of experience between parent and child.

This is so much more inspiring and enriching than some of the more basic shagging and drinking stories that pepper the set. There are some gems in here, but in a crudely-made setting.

Review date: 9 Aug 2011
Reviewed by: Julia Chamberlain