Comedy Nights: Ed Byrne

Seasoned Irish stand-up Ed Byrne headlines the Lyric's monthly comedy night this April alongside a bevy of established and up-and-coming stars. Pedantic and whimsical, the long-haired Irish comic excels with his chatty brand of observational comedy and colourful anecdotes, which often shimmy into the realm of unscripted innovative threads and mock vitriol. Musing over his place in society, his recent marriage and the youth of today, Byrne's latest one-man show oozed "effortless charm and biting sarcasm" (Chortle) from an act "at the top of his game" (The Sunday Telegraph). Despite a burgeoning TV career which includes regular spots on Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Father Ted, Byrne, who sounds rather like Kryten from Red Dwarf, is perhaps best remembered for his scathing dissection of Alanis Morissette's song Ironic: "'A traffic jam when you're already late'? When was the last time you were stuck in an ironic traffic jam? Unless you're a town planner on the way to a meeting about managing traffic flow. 'It's like rain on a wedding day'? Only if you're getting married to a weatherman and he set the date.  'It's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife'? Now that's just stupid. How big is your kitchen sink?"