Jason Byrne: The Man with Three Brains at City Varieties

With plenty of audience participation, microphone mishaps and a whole lot of laughs, Jason Byrne brings the house down at Leeds City Varieties with his latest tour, The Man with Three Brains.

Jason’s unique style of comedy is rather fierce – energetic, dynamic and captivating to watch. I’m not keen on the gratuitous swearing, which is a little distracting, and the way he tears into every audience member he picks on makes for uncomfortable watching at times, but all-in-all it’s a great show (despite me sinking into my chair and remaining very quiet for fear of being picked on!)

The sign of a true pro is the ability to handle technical difficulties, and when his mic suddenly goes off Jason handles this with wit and good humour, putting the audience at ease and showing his true ability as a comedy superstar. Many polished comedians such as Byrne rely heavily on a script, yet Byrne’s show seemed effortlessly random (though he sticks to his time schedule to the minute – incredibly impressive control over his set!)

Getting the audience involved is always a risk, and Byrne clearly knows this, but it doesn’t deter him from creating roars of laughter when he brings up four members of the audience on stage to help him with a magic trick.

The best thing about this show is that every single one will be different. Talking to the audience, reacting to reactions and generally being ‘one of us’ is Byrne’s unique talent, which means no two shows will ever be the same and I’d rush back to see him.

Catch Jason Byrne’s tour at a number of venues – more info here.