Ed Byrne: Different Class

Ed Byrne: Different Class

06 October, 2008
by: Emma

The compere for Ed Byrne's gig at Riverside Studios is himself. "I'm warming up for the warm-up", he explains. This improvisational part of any comedy show where the compere gets to know the audience before he introduces the acts can be quite dull but as an experienced pro, Byrne shines at this, managing to home in on the banker who's just lost his job and some posh guy on the third row - ready targets for some mobbing up. Laughs come freely, leaving him to point out "If you think this shit off the top of my head's good – wait until you hear the material I actually thought of beforehand and then wrote down!"

After an excellent warm-up by New Zealander Ben Hurley, Byrne comes on stage and explains the theme of the show - what social demographic he thinks he fits into. He makes the point that it can be confusing knowing whether you're middle-class or working-class and proves it brilliantly when he asks the audience what they would categorize themselves as and the majority stick their hands up for working-class, even though they are at a comedy night in a West London theatre. He also seems to be stuck between fame and obscurity in his career as he tells us: "I'm famous enough to release a DVD, but not enough for it to sell very well." Many comedians' egos would be bruised by the downgrade from being 'the next big thing' as he was often referred to in the 90's, but Byrne takes it all in his stride and revels in using his career status for material.

Having recently married his girlfriend, planning the wedding proves to be another hot topic for ridicule, from the £1700 he spent on invitations to the overbearing wedding planner: "Getting a wedding planner is like debt consolidation. You get rid of all the little arseholes and deal with one 18-carat gold wanker." It appears that even smart, down-to-earth comedians can get lost in the circus that is planning a wedding and this strikes a chord with many of the audience not least the jobless banker who had recently returned from his honeymoon we discover. Although class divides and his wedding fill most of the hour, there are also some great unrelated jokes that come out of nowhere, in particular one about the anti-piracy warnings we are plagued with on DVDs ('you wouldn't steal a handbag, so why steal a movie?'). Byrne argues: "Don't presume to know me! I'm sitting in my pants at 3pm in the afternoon watching a horror movie about women being tortured in a bunker. I might well steal a handbag."

All jokes about his career aside, it is clear that Byrne has lost none of his talents as an entertainer and has the audience eating out of his hand for the duration of the show. He has a very strong stage presence and a chatty, easy going style; getting observations spot-on without being too obvious and telling anecdotes with just the right level of detail to believe their authenticity. He is undoubtedly still a first class stand-up (excuse the pun) and if his latest show is anything to go by, still will be for many years to come.

See more London Stand Up
See more London Comedy
See more London Events

Emma