Shane Daniel Byrne: Baby This Time comedy review – Scurrilous tales
The gossipy comic peppers stories of his life (and a recent brush with homophobia) with his usual lightness of touch
Shane Daniel Byrne seems so settled in his comic persona, all garrulous indiscretion and cheeky side eye, that it’s a surprise to hear how he wobbled after a bit of homophobic criticism. Accused of leaning too heavily into ‘the gay stuff’, the Irish comic briefly wondered if he was a one-trick pony. Like all comics relaying minority experience though, he’s got the argument of it simply representing his life. Besides, with a creeping sense that homophobia is on the rise, it keeps him on his toes and closer to the cutting edge of stand-up.
Well, up to a point. From the eccentric baths he took as a child, to his experience of female hecklers, Byrne enjoys reflecting on his performative side, with the relationship with his boyfriend characterised by the ill-advised way he chose to recently greet him at the door. Amusing tales, offered with a lightness of touch, they’re strung together with self-deprecation but calibrated to gently tickle rather than deliver a fierce riposte to the bigots. Never one for sports, Byrne had a panic on a flight recently when the optics of his appearance were all wrong. But spilling the tea is his preferred pastime. And he fondly recalls the outspoken women who ushered him through one of his first jobs with the scurrilous gossip he so loves to feast upon.
Shane Daniel Byrne: Baby This Time, Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 30 August, 6.50pm; picture: Paddy Kirk.