Seann Walsh - I'd Happily Punch Myself in the Face

By his own admission, Seann Walsh isn't having a good night tonight. But, where some divas might berate the audience for "not getting it," Walsh's reaction is full-fat mea culpa. He apologises and, implicitly sensing his prepared set is falling flat, says "I'm just going to talk to you, now." His subsequent "new material" about ovens and fridges is one of tonight's highlights.

It's not immediately obvious why this is the case. This new material remains firmly in the same vein as the disparate collection of fairly mild, domestic observations which populate the rest of his set. There's little unusual, refreshing or particularly well-structured here.

What is refreshing is the delivery. Walsh's skill is absolutely in performance and, when he relaxes into informality, this becomes apparent. Walsh less tells, more acts out jokes, delivering standard punch lines with a twist of the body or a deft turn of the head which lifts them out of the ordinary. For the majority of the set, though, he seems bored and over-rehearsed. He loses the ability to launch out of the setups and spring punch lines with the gusto he's capable of. It's not inconceivable that he is bored of his own script.

A clearly talented performer, Walsh could do with better material. As he apologies for tonight's performance, one supportive audience member chirps, "Don't worry, you were alright."

"Every comedian's worst nightmare is being 'alright'," Walshe ripostes. Walshe is, indeed, alright. One might generously suggest that he's pointing in the right direction to be more than that.