Comedy masterclass from Ireland's number one comedian

REVIEW: Tommy Tiernan, Exeter Corn Exchange

Calling the tour 'out of the whirlwind' is as an apt description of an evening with 'Ireland's number one comedian', Tommy Tiernan, as you could possibly get.

The experience leaves you ruffled, refreshed and somehow cleansed but ultimately rewarded in the humour stakes for hearing him out and following his acerbic outpouring that resonates strongly with the Devon crowd.

Tommy Tiernan's appearance at Exeter's Corn Exchange, as part of the mostly excellent LOL Festival which is now it it's 7th year, transported the audience over two engaging sets to worlds where the irrational became the norm and no topic was out of bounds.

A master of his craft, Tommy is funny, he's endearing, charming and warm, skilfully and temporarily lulled the Exeter crowd into a safe place before exposing them to a diatribe of the inner workings of his brain, whilst managing to reflect the nagging doubts of the audience's sub-conscience and have them nodding and laughing along in agreement. 

Tommy told his Exeter audience “I've got lots of questions but no answers” that may have been so but he has a lot to say on almost every topic, ranging from ISIS, dogs, obesity, sex, marriage and the fragility of life in the context of that we, the human race, are sitting on an orb spinning at 1,000 miles an hour, but we don't stop to consider how mad that actually is, until thankfully Mr Tiernan points it out.

It is safe to say that Tommy will never be the president of the Bono fan club, and says he has learnt more from his dog than he has from Jesus. His dog however, would say he is 'far too big for himself' – we, the Corn Exchange audience just wanted to find out where Tommy would go next. Adult themes and language throughout but delivered with a Galway charm and two decades of storytelling experience that kept us with him and wanting more.

We laughed hard, then wondered why and when Tommy left the stage (to collect his sheafs of corn by way of payment), we all knew we had experienced a comic force that sailed close to the wind and got away with it. A must see for comedy fans worldwide. 

For more tour dates go to www.tommytiernan.com or to sign up for the Exeter Corn Exchange mailing list visit: www.exeter.gov.uk/cornexchange

Drew Aspinwall