Comedy
By Ciaran Lyons
Wednesday 4th February
Noodle Palace

It was an intimate night in the Noodle Palace’s Ramen Room. The sold old crowd consisted of less than fifty people – all packed together in the disguised TAFE classroom. Unfortunately for Ciaran Lyons, hardly anyone in the audience was willing to participate in his show, despite the full house.

It was a risk Lyons took, constructing an hour-long show around audience involvement – a risk that led to the performance finishing at 8:33pm instead of the expected 8:50pm. Half an hour of Lyons humour wasn’t enough for me. I was already itching to see another show or catch him on The Project‘s ‘Metro Whip-Around’ only minutes after leaving the Noodle Palace.

He would have pulled off the show brilliantly too if anyone bothered to participate and answer his questions; it’s not like he was asking for some complex algebra equation to be solved either. All he wanted to know was ‘What do you do for a living?’ or ‘What do you study at uni?’ so he could use the reply as the butt of his next joke. Come on people you’re at a comedy show – what do you expect? If it weren’t for a Scottish woman and myself, Lyons would have been talking to chirping crickets the whole time.

Despite the awkward silences, when Lyons addressed the crowd, his personal stories on being the youngest sibling, travelling to Las Vegas, and perverted high school examiners were a hoot. It wasn’t just Lyons’ age bracket that appreciated his stories and sense of humour, but the fifty year olds found him a laugh too.

Given the chance, I’d see No More Fake ID again. While I give the performance I saw three stars, with a willing and talkative audience to work with, Lyons show could easily move up to four.

Ciaran Lyons – No More Fake ID! is running until Saturday 7th February. Check it out in the Festival Guide here.