Ed Byrne brings his new show to Newark and shares why comedy is tragedy plus time...
The show begins as the impish Ed Byrne bounds into the stage. He's full of energy and it's clear that tonight's show will be high octane. He introduces the show and chats to the audience for a little while retelling stories from the previous nights of the tour.
He introduces support act Amy Matthews, who discusses her similarity to Emily Blunt. And she's not wrong, not only in her accent but also in her looks. She discusses generational differences and her own struggles with anxiety. Amy receives warm well-deserved applause.
It is said that comedy is tragedy plus time. This means that anything is funny after a certain amount of time has elapsed.
Getting his car broken into took Ed just 24 hours to turn from tragedy to comedy. But certain things take longer to become funny.
It's taken Ed quite a lot longer to come to terms with the untimely death of his brother, the successful and likeable comedy director Paul Byrne. But eventually Ed found comedy even in death. And that's what he says Paul would have wanted.
Creating comedy from tragedy cannot be easy
Paul's death can be attributed to a number of issues, previous cancer, alcohol consumption leading to liver failure, and ultimately Covid. So, Byrne makes it clear that Covid deniers are not his favourite people.
Ed explains that he and Paul were not on the best of terms towards the end of his brother's life but the two did reconcile before his death.
Byrne is observant, witty and thoroughly likeable guy. He may not have the success of other comedians but he says he's doesn't have to work quite so hard, which he's happy about.
Creating comedy from tragedy cannot be easy. But Byrne has done it with style. It's not always easy to watch because anyone who has lost someone close to them recently will relive that pain along with Byrne reliving it nightly. It seems however that he finds catharsis in it. And perhaps so can we, as we laugh and cry along with him.
Byrne says that the best review you can get is four stars. So, I'll happily oblige and rate this show accordingly. Highly recommended.
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