Underbelly, Bristo Square
Aug 16-26
18:50
Last night I had an experience at a comedy show which, in all my years of Fringe reviewing (12 & counting), I’d never had before. It began with Joe McTernan bursting onto stage like a star-sparkling firework, exploding with hilarity & balloons, five star-ing his stuff all over the shop. Of course, it’s not always possible to maintain the highest standard of comedy thro’ an entire show, but by the end of my time with Joe, I’d found that not only had we dropp’d to a four, but we were now firmly entrench’d in the 3 levels. A bit like being sent from Dantean Heaven to Mount Purgatory for some Angelic misdemeanour or other. I guess, overall, a four is the proper score – but yeah, strange.
There is a lot of noise around Joe at the moment – a sell-out run last year, and a viral sensation with 50+million views online, which would explain his riotous footy crowd reception at the start. At the core of his 2024 show is the recent passing of both his grandparents & the end of a ten-year relationship – hence the title ‘Lost.’ Was it his open-hearted revelatory public therapy session what ground away my initial, excited-to-be-there, opinion? Perhaps… but personally I think that, altho’ spectacularly & jubilantly brilliant at times, one can only eat so much chocolate, & Joe’s high pressure, rapidly bantering delivery rarely changes stylistically. He’s like a hairdryer.
But, I’m just me, & Joe has clearly tickl’d the funny bones of a wide diaspora of folk – the audience was really eclectic. I’d like to see how he does in different settings – I think he’d make a brilliant actor – he’s got that Danny Dyer vibe -, but as for his comedy, for me it’d have to be in smaller portions. The result, then, is the most unusual FOUR STARS I’ve ever given at the Fringe.
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