Ed Byrne's turning his life into comedy
"This is my life. I have a wife and a cat. I also have a tortoise, but he's not funny."
Ed Byrne
Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury
"This is my life. I have a wife and a cat. I also have a tortoise, but he's not funny."
Fortunately enough for those of us watching Mock The Week regular Ed Byrne at Theatre Severn, the antics of his spouse and their feline companion more than make up for the lack of chuckles provided by the shell-dweller who shares their home.
Actually, the cat's not really his.
"I think we're nicer to animals than humans," says Byrne. "The cat was out by the bins, looking a bit hungry, so now he lives with us. You wouldn't do that with a human." What follows is a riff on humans as cats which is both hilarious and far too rude to put in a family newspaper.
Byrne is a relatively new father, and his experiences form much of his 90+ minute show, with his wife's forgetfulness during pregnancy and his baby's bodily functions bringing the laughs.
But there is also time for his views on politics (why voting in a coalition government is like being bullied at school), the joys of camping and how hiking socks get wet (it's not from the rain!), and nerdiness (with a special mention going to the one audience member who knew the name of the USS Reliant from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan).
Byrne was on cracking form and even took time out to plug other comedians coming up at Theatre Severn. Based on the hilarity he provided, if Byrne says they're funny I'm taking him at his word. Tickets please.
By David Burrows
Ed Byrne will be at Oakengates Theatre on Sunday, November 2. Click here for details
