Andrew O'Neill Is Easily Distracted

Given Andrew O'Neill has conducted comedy tours of Jack the Ripper's murder sites, his new standup show could be considered tame by comparison – but only just. While other comedians may play at being slightly unhinged for the audience's amusement, O'Neill gives semi-serious consideration to the possibility that there's something wrong with the way he perceives the world and processes information (hence the title), before wondering if maybe he's better off this way. Judging from their overwhelmingly positive reaction, the crowd agrees with the latter.

O'Neill is a daring, confrontational comedian whose material works best when fed by the enthusiasm of his myriad interests and strong opinions. Though the show opens a little abrasively, he wins over his audience—even those who might not share his passion for the musical stylings of Slayer—with aplomb. As a Fringe veteran, he has a refreshingly cynical view of festival madness, while his freeform rants on gender conventions and the upper classes are acidic and insightful without being hectoring. Routines are broken up by some faintly disturbing physical non sequiturs—keep an ear out for the musical cue of buzzing flies—that may confuse some, but escalate until their inner comedy emerges.

The slowest segments are a few aimless interactions with the front row, which serve to demonstrate how true the show's name actually is. But like a true professional, O'Neill always pulls back from the brink of incomprehensibility just as he is about to go over it.