ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
ED BYRNE
IF I ’ M HONEST …
BY JASON BARLOW
ONE OF THE UK ’ S FINEST OBSERVATIONAL COMICS FINALLY CONTINUES HIS NATIONWIDE , BIGGEST TOUR TO DATE . JOIN HIM AS HE TAKES A LONG HARD LOOK AT HIMSELF AND TRIES TO DECIDE IF HE HAS ANY TRAITS THAT ARE WORTH PASSING ON TO HIS CHILDREN .
© Idil Sukan
Award-winning comedian Ed Byrne enjoys worldwide acclaim for his stand-up . A quarter of a century at the comedic coalface has equipped the much-loved Irishman with a highly evolved storytelling ability and a silky mastery of his craft . Yet his wit , charm and self-deprecatory observational humour is often underpinned by a consistently hilarious vitriol and sense of injustice at a world that seems to be spinning ever more rapidly out of control .
Having recently hit a new peak with shows such as the sublime Spoiler Alert and reflective Outside , Looking In , which explored the minefield that is modern parenting and a generational sense of entitlement , Ed ’ s new show If I ’ m Honest digs ever deeper into a father ’ s sense of responsibility , what it means to be a man in 2022 , and whether he possesses any qualities whatsoever worth passing on to his two sons . Occasionally accused of whimsy , If I ’ m Honest is a show with a seriously steely core .
Gender politics , for example , is something Ed readily engages with – deploying his customary comedic zeal . ‘ I ’ ll admit that there are things where men get a raw deal ,’ he says . ‘ We have higher suicide rates , and we tend not to do well in divorces , but representation in action movies is not something we have an issue with . It was Mad Max : Fury Road that kicked it all off , even though nobody complained about Ripley in Alien or Sarah Connor in Terminator
2 . Of course , social media means this stuff gets broadcast far and wide in an instant , which emboldens people .
‘ The problem with men ’ s rights activists is that it ’ s not about speaking up for men ’ s rights , it ’ s about hating women . If you ’ re a men ’ s rights activist , you ’ re not going to care about the fact that there ’ s an allfemale Ghostbusters remake . That ’ s nothing to do with men ’ s rights or female entitlement . That ’ s everything to do with being , well , a whiny baby .’
As ever , Ed manages to provoke without being overly polemical , a balancing act that only someone of his huge experience can really pull off .
# WIN
insideKENT have teamed up with each venue to offer a pair of tickets to Ed ’ s shows in Bromley , Canterbury & Chatham . Simply head to www . insidekentmagazine . co . uk / win stating your preferred venue .
Closing date for Churchill Theatre tickets : 11th Feb 2022 . Closing date for Gulbenkian & Central Theatre tickets competitions : 28th Feb 2022 .
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