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Bankable banter with Michael McIntyre
Bruce Dessau 29 Sep 2008
With stocks plummeting, if you want a sound investment, put your money on Michael McIntyre.
In his smart suit and electrified floppy hair-do this sublime stand-up might resemble a city whizz-kid but he is the most bankable banter merchant on the block.
He does classic observational comedy of social embarrassment better than anyone, whether it is exploring the protocol of kissing, dissecting the etiquette of exchanging phone numbers or revealing what happens when two limp handshakes collide.
He turns everyday encounters into masterclasses of anthropological exasperation.
Why do we only ever put vegetables in sandwiches at Christmas? Longer riffs show he can build momentum.
There is a wonderful skit about “man draws”, storage spaces filled with batteries, bulbs and other unfeminine flotsam.
Even when he tackles things that umpteen comedians have tackled before, he does it so well it feels box-fresh.
For McIntyre the arcane shopping-then-queuing process in Argos conjures up an image of “theatre for the poor”.
His tour is already nearly sold out. Ticketless fans can put his forthcoming live DVD on their Christmas wish-list and watch it while tucking into a brussels sprout sandwich.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Reader views (8)
The show in the Waterfront was fantastic for the most part. Michael was hilaious, and the guests were very good. Jon Robinson(Robertson?) was a stand out and had me in stitches, as they say. Then came Paddy Kielty. I cringe in embarrassment knowing that he's 'representing' Ulster in the forthcoming tv series. How pathetic was he? Well, people were leaving in droves as his 'act' continued. The guy's a disgrace. His jokes were outdated to say the least, and his patter was rotten. Why they dragged this buffoon out of cold storage is beyond me, especially when you look at the other, genuinely good performers there on the night. Congrats to all of them for a brilliant show; it's just a pity the phenomenally untalented Kielty tried his best to ruin the evening.
- Dave, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 06/06/2009 16:01
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Went to see MM at Waterfront......superb and a comedian with the surname Richardson was brilliant.
However, Patrick Kielty.........appalling, old political jokes, ok 10 years ago but needs to move on, other comedians very fresh and up to date.
- Chris, Belfast, 08/04/2009 13:25
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We went to see Michael Mcintyre at Wolverhampton, we were hoping for Frankie Boyle tickets but they were sold out. However I am soooo glad we got to see Michael instead!
He is so sharp with his observations, I think there was something in his show that everyone in the audience could have related directly to! He is very animated too which just adds to his total overall charm. He is so easy to watch and enjoy, nothing in his show was very offensive, which makes a pleasant change in this day and age. He is so funny he does not need to rely on the shock factor of bad language or distasteful 'gags' to get his laughs.
I also really loved the way he talks about a topic then sometime later refers to it again in relation to something else, so all the threads of the show are interwoven. It is much cleverer than many standups who just reel off gags and one-liners for two hours.
If you get a chance to go and see him - I would wholeheatedly recommend it - a brilliant night out for all!!
- Shelly G, Ludlow, UK, 27/12/2008 14:22
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I went to see Michael on the 14th and it was the best nite ever! I was so disappointed he was cancelled for the 31st of october !! But he definatly made up for it !! whats better is that my 2 friends, my mum, dad and myself got front row seat! I was literally a foot away from Michael Mcintyre!
Although i heard some of his gags before i didnt care .. I was laughing for the whole 2 hours he was on stage .. Which was brilliant as i didnt think he would be on for quite as long! And his new stuff was just genius!
He is absolutly brilliant, so funny and he tells stories that everyone can relate to which makes it even funnier.
Tryin to do a belfast accent was just priceless. And there were a group of young boys also in the front row and one of them who was clearly drunk was asking for a hug and Michael got him to take off his "batman Shoes" and scarf! Brilliant
An audience member called him something obscene when the discussion of eoghan from the x factors name came up ... He was so rude to Michael but he handled it well!
Fully sold out the waterfront! It was so funny !!
Go and see him or get his DVD .. hes amazing
- Hannah, Ards Northern Ireland, 20/12/2008 19:48
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Went to see Michael Mc at the Waterfront in Belfast on 14th Dec- was my 40th Birthday so instead of being miserable i laughed for nearly 2 hours solid. Brilliant gig and as someone else pointed out the improvised bits were brilliant. Particularly when he asked for questions - what followed was a skit about X Factor and the spelling of Eoghans' name followed by a member of the audience being a tad insulting ( and telling him to" turn up on time ya C***" the next time he played, having had to cancel the original Belfast date due to injury ) . Think the rest of the audience like me felt that was unecessary, but Michael displayed brilliant skill in handling that and the next 15 mins were laugh a minute with an audience who were entirely on his side - the part where he got a guy in the front row to hand over his shoes and scarf was superb .... He is definitely a must see.
- Frankie, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 16/12/2008 14:58
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Went to see MM last night, and laughed myself absolutely silly. Every part was hilarious, even today I am still giggling. That man's delivery is outstanding, the subject matter maybe pretty old, but it's like you are hearing it for the first time! If you get the chance to see him, make sure you do.
- Louise Jones, London, 04/11/2008 12:14
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Went to see Michael McIntyre last night at the Birmingham Hippodrome. An absolutely brilliant show! No support act - just two hours of MM at his finest. All new material - and lots of improvised stuff in response to numerous heckles from rather excitable Brummy audience members.
Get tickets if you can. You will not be disappointed!
- Kat Hampden, Oxford, UK, 03/11/2008 12:58
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I saw McIntyre in Canterbury tonight. I've been a massive fan since his debut on TV in the Royal Variety Show.
He was on form, turned up on time, slagged off the lighting man for lighting up the audience instead of the stage. When my 16 year grandson got up in the middle of his first half routine for a pee (we were in the front row) he turned that into a very amusing comedy bit about how many of us were dying for a pee but hadn't the balls to go. Whether this was carefully worked out or was pure improvisation I have no idea but it worked perfectly. When my grandson came back (having elicited his name from his sister) he continued the joke but without being malicious or nasty.
The cleverest bit, which was certainly improvised was when he spotted the Mayor of the City and thanked him for coming (he had on his chains of Office) but it turned out that he was not the Mayor but his wife (chainless) was. When he realised he'd made an error, there was a few seconds hesitation from McIntyre and I wondered how the hell he was going to get out of this but he did, turning it into an hilarious bit of very clever comedy gold.
It was two excellent hours of first class material, none of which I'd heard before. Go and see it if you can, he's a funny man.
- Don Emanuel, Rainham, Kent,UK, 24/10/2008 02:44
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