Fringe review: DAN TIERNAN: ALL IN, Monkey Barrel Comedy

Comedy comes in all shapes and sizes and it is a delight to dip into the late night comedy club scene at Monkey Barrel to see up and coming comics, as opposed to the self satisfied older ones who have already made a fortune from lucrative TV shows and large venue tours .

Dan Tiernan was pleased to tell us he had done a turn on Live at the Apollo but his usual club routine is much more personal and largely untransmittable as he demonstrates in the delivery that he has the personality and skill to make into the mainstream.

His set is a revealing and deeply personal assessment of himself; a neurodivergent, gay man who had over indulged in all sorts of drugs and had a gambling addiction .

He is recovering - he says - from a psychotic episode a year ago. He analyses the root causes as 1) drugs, 2) his relationships, and 3) his brain. Yet his delivery, scaring the front row into submission early on and ending with his mate Hayden in a hilarious double act, is cleverly constructed, skilfully executed and has his audience in stitches. It's hard not to like the man and wish him well in his recovery and his career going forward.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Nick Wayne

Dan Tiernan: All In plays at Edinburgh Festival Fringe until 24 August, with further info here.