Ed Byrne - Roaring Forties

A couple of months ago, I thought about which stand-up comedian I'd most like to see live on stage. I commented to Mr Weka that "if Ed Byrne ever comes to town, we'll definitely be there." The next day, the NZ International Comedy Festival announced its lineup along with an international headliner ... Mr Byrne himself! My powers of wishful thinking worked! (Next time, I'll wish for a million dollars, or world peace, or maybe something that combines the two.)

The title of Ed Byrne's show perfectly coincided with a particular celebration in our home last week. I quickly jumped online and booked front row tickets for the final Wellington show of Roaring Forties. In Byrne's own words, it's all about him being a dick and supposedly middle aged at the same time. Apparently that kind of behaviour of expected of teenaged boys, but it comes as a surprise when a grown man in his forties acts like a dick and this is how he gets away with it. It works for us.

Byrne explained that he loves travelling around New Zealand (don't they all say that?) but will never perform in Oamaru ever again. He has his reasons.

For me, Byrne's best comedy moments feature his retelling of seemingly mundane events, such as recovering from hernia surgery, peppered with everyday family life. His sketch about casually exhorting unreasonable demands from a partner "While you're up ... can you get me a sandwich?" regularly gets aired in our home any time one of us gets up from watching tv at night. (We've changed the punch line ever so slightly. "But I don't want a sandwich. I want *insert object of desire here*")

Roaring Forties is an hilarious look at life from inside a comedian's brain, all wrapped up in a delicious Irish accent.