Ardal O'Hanlon review
Published: Wednesday 18th September 2013
Popular old Ardal O'Hanlon is in that wonderfully privileged position of being able to walk onto a comedy stage and do pretty much whatever he wants. That face. That voice. You could almost imagine him striding out, waving once, striding back off again and still getting a huge round of delighted applause.
It's also a situation that much-loved comics need to guard against, however, lest their material become a bit less taut than it should be. Before the sitcom stardom of Father Ted and My Hero, O'Hanlon was firmly established as one of Ireland's most important comics, having co-founded Dublin's influential International Comedy Cellar, and this is clearly still his most natural home. He's done a bit of homework for these first few shows of his new tour too, throwing in some local Norwich knowledge, little-known facts and a sharp aside about the natives' obsession with the colour yellow.
The show kicks off with support act Pat Cahill, an inventive if slightly erratic soul who just about manages to hold the attention for the full half-hour, and copes admirably with the sizeable crowd (although a large-scale drinking game falls flat, due to him not realising that booze isn't allowed in the venue). O'Hanlon is then forced to cope with a Dougal-related heckle early in his set, having gingerly touched upon the ecumenical elephant in the room, but ploughs on regardless, safe in the knowledge that this crowd were won over before he'd even reached the building.
The general theme is the comic's life and career, his boyhood dreams - including several enjoyable football bits, a subject that's usually to stand-ups what Macbeth is to thespians - and the reason he turned to performing. There's some nice stuff about life back home in rural Ireland, some slightly hackneyed stereotyping about the EU's more robust superpowers, and a decent bit of audience interaction along the way.
The hour does feel a bit flabby in places, laughs often arising more from the big eyes than the punchlines, but then these two Norwich dates were the first of the tour. Give it a few weeks and he might well be tighter than, well, certain cash-strapped countries' economies.
Ardal O'Hanlon is on tour until December. Dates & Tickets
Reviewed at the Norwich Playhouse
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