Dara OBriain – Lowry Theatre, Salford

Reviewer: Poppy Helm

The Public Reviews Rating:

Universally recognised at ‘the bald one from Mock The Week’, Dara O’Briain shows us that he’s more than just a quiz show host as he goes solo at The Lowry.

This comedy act is the first I’ve seen in some time where the headliner performs the entire set. As O’Briain gleefully points out in the face of a Peter Kay heckle, this is where the real value for money is. It’s impossible not to like this Irish accented teddy bear of a man, though he sometimes speaks so fast that our ears can struggle to keep up.

O’Briain claims to be bringing back ‘nice comedy’ (‘Jonathan Ross f****d it up’ don’t you know?) which serves as a fair summary of his act. The routine is adult without relying on vulgarity, the audience are teased but not ridiculed. Throwing questions out to the crowd restricts the first half to a steady pace and an initially subdued audience are instructed to neck some tequilas in the interval to liven things up. However, O’ Briain is at his best in the second half, turning everyday experiences into the ridiculous and so minimal liquor is required to lubricate the laughter.

The act isn’t of the side-splitting, face-aching order but is inarguably funny. Some of the gags are rather subtle topical references (‘bigoted woman’, anyone?) which is perhaps a brave approach but it’s refreshing to be treated as an intelligent audience; there are no lazy ‘fart jokes’ here. Instead there is bags of original material with give a genuinely new (if a little surreal) perspective on the mundane; a turf-war between doctors and midwives, dreaming about celebrities and bears performing surgery all feature. The only disappointment is an encore recapping the audience participation elements, which is something of an anti-climax after the intensity of the finale. Despite this, O’ Briain presents a slick, educational and well-thought out performance, just be sure to watch out for those mutating neutrons on the way home.