Mr Fruit Salad
The first Regather Comedy Club of the year started off in the usual fashion, with compère Sean Morley taking to the stage, his usual blend of hilarious observation and low-energy whimsy keeping the crowd entertained and energised.
The first support act was Jayne Edwards in the guise of Top Bodybuilder Brian. Equipped with a sleeveless muscle vest, drawn-on abs and a can-do attitude, Edwards delivers a wonderful modern satire. Brian promotes his rather unique lifestyle with a charming and friendly demeanour whilst also being completely unequipped for the task at hand. It's daft, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments throughout.
It's hard to make a room full of strangers laugh at the best of times, but sometimes all it takes is a man in a fake beard with four squeaky rubber pigs, leading the room in a haunting rendition of 'He's Got The Whole World in His Hands'. Jumping rapidly between several characters using a variety of homemade costumes, Liam Hale's set is one of utter absurdity. It's random, funny, idiotic, simply wonderful and had the whole audience crying with laughter.
Next, Pope Lonergan, striding onto the stage with a beaming smile and a cheery disposition, in stark contrast to his material about being a recovering drug addict. The chipper tone and dark material was really funny, but wasn't received by the crowd as well as it should have been. Perhaps the chaos of the previous acts popped the atmosphere a bit.
What can I say about headliner Mr Fruit Salad? Writing this half a day later, I'm still processing what I saw. Mr Fruit Salad is totally a real person and not an anxiety shield put up by comedian Joz Norris, attempting to deal with his issues by donning a fake beard and dark glasses and adopting a high-pitched voice with a wandering accent. What follows is a bit like The Matrix. No-one can be told what it is; you have to see it for yourself. It's downright stupid and totally hilarious. My sides hurt from laughing so much - an absolute joy to experience.
An amazing start to 2019 for Regather Comedy Club.
