Carl Donnelly review

Donnelly's stage presence and comfort in front of the audience, belies the fact that he is one of the fringes newer performers. With his distinctive look, and way of speaking (he has panache for abbreviating words, which probably shouldn't be), he is a recognisable face, whether you know where you've seen him, or can't quite place him.
This year's solo show, How do You Solve a Problem Like Carl Donnelly, is testament to the fact that he enjoys what he does, and is, in fact, very good at it. His introductory preamble is funnier than a lot of acts' main shows, and the ease with which he chats to an audience and makes everyone feel welcome is evident. He can be self-derogatory, without self-pity and never fails to admit when he was the idiot in a situation, with an honesty you actually believe is uncontrived.

Most of his material is personal to him, and relates to the fact that he is fairly newly married to his 'current wife', that he spent a lot of time being an idiot until his early 20's, and that if censorship has its way he can easily envisage an overly long advert for office furniture. Add to this his reasons why he should probably never become famous (be thankful you didn't have to sit next to him at the O2 arena), and you have a winning combination of whimsical banter and tales of an ex-idiot. Oh, and follow his top tips for drinking a cup of tea at just the right moment.

How he isn't more famous is somewhat baffling, but be thankful that you can still see him at the Fringe. And apparently there's a man wandering around the Royal Mile who'll tell you he's funny anyway, so don't listen to me.

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Carl Donnelly: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Carl Donnelly? listing