Presented by Live Nation and Lisa Thomas Management
Reviewed 30 September 2013
A capacity crowd were shocked and delighted by the odd-ball brand of adult comedy in Irish comedian Jason Byrne’s latest stand up tour, Special Eye.
Byrne literally bounced onto the stage on a large white space ball and immediately drew four volunteers from the audience to form a space ball relay. The crowd knew Byrne would not fail to disappoint by including them in the jokes from that point onward.
Byrne targeted his audience participants early on and continually included their stories in jokes throughout the night. The monosyllabic answers from Jim (the rigger) in the front row were flipped upside down when Byrne created a hilarious “guess the job” game. Byrne’s impressions of Tony Abbott as the “side-part wearing idiot with Danger Mouse ears” as compared with the presence and style of Barack Obama proved priceless. An impression of AFL runners delivering messages like, “Your Mum’s watching… she says good luck” had the entire audience in fits. He drilled home the differences in Irish versus Australian sport with the comparison, “In Ireland, we have sense to play football with a round ball”.
Byrne’s reflection on married life, the ageing process and generational differences were skilfully charming, yet in true Jason Byrne fashion, at times based upon sexual or faecal foundations. His ability in describing men of a sexual age as being “like monkeys – they see a hole and they have to fill it” or framing ropey marriages as “great, because the hate keeps you alive” rang true with the audience.
A collection of window dressings, children’s toys and adult erotica were used to deliver stories and further accentuated Byrne’s skill in telling stories on a broad range of topics. His ability to convincingly impersonate British, Scottish, Irish and Australian stereotypes added depth to both the characters and stories he portrayed.
Kudos must be given to Byrne for weaving truly original and up-to-the-minute stories from his experiences since arriving in Australia into the show. He explored the recent challenge to his manhood in self-medicating for a kidney infection contracted since arriving in Australia; a delight particularly for the masculine audience members. To support this claim, Byrne was able to produce the packet of bullet shaped tablets, cementing himself as a true contemporary, comedic story teller.
Bringing the show full circle by the show’s conclusion, Byrne invited ‘Dave’ from the space ball relay to rejoin him for a card trick on stage. Weaving further unscripted magic into the show, together Dave and Byrne connected stories between audience participants Jim the rigger, Chris from Brighton and some latecomers who were victims of heckling upon their arrival.
Crazily witty and creative, Special Eye was an engaging and wholly hilarious commentary on the abnormalities experienced in everyday life. While foul language and a fair amount of shouting were used, they were tools to emphasise emotion, plot and punch lines to great effect.
Reviewed by Bree Downs-Woolley
Venue: Her Majesty’s Theatre, Grote Street, Adelaide
Season: 30 September 2013
Photo Credit: http://www.jasonbyrne.ie/gallery/
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