Andrew Ryan: Did You Get Here Alright?

Andrew Ryan is an Irishman with chips on his shoulder. He’s never been in love, his parents have taken back his keys to the family home in Cork for “security” reasons, and he can’t get on the property ladder. Those who think of comedy shows as a place to hide away from the daily mundanities of mortgage bills, credit score woes and the perils of long-term renting should consider themselves warned: much of Ryan’s material still revolves around his ISA dramas and financial gripes (his 2012 show Ryanopoly was about money worries too).

Although there’s an over-reliance on very detailed moans about cash and status anxiety—with too few laughs to keep those bits afloat—he’s on much safer ground when he’s back to proud banter about his hometown of Cork—it should be an independent country, he suggests—or the banal things his mum comes out with. The title, Did You Get Here Alright? is his mammy’s standard greeting when he’s on her doorstep and the answer is already staring her in the face.

The bits where he shares how nervous he is, cracking his face into a very wide grin, and taking the piss out of his own poor response to heckles show that he’s a very natural, likeable performer. The bitter bits where he reveals he’s swung politically more to the right because of bad experiences, less so. His chatty delivery is well oiled and working very well, there’s just a bit too much hangdog material preventing him from tickling more funny bones.