Keith Farnan: Money, Money, Money

The last time this personable Irishman played the Underbelly he was due to appear on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow. That appearance inevitably saw Farnan's stock rise but it is tumbling share prices that are his concern in this show, in which Farnan contextualises his own fortunes with those of his native country's economy.

As bright and clever as his premise, Farnan still expresses himself in a way that is either way too obvious or too esoteric, and therefore he never seems to do his intellect or his funny bones much justice.

It's a tough balancing act, of course, but each slip means a joke that's either too obscure or too dumb. On the one hand seemingly clever connections are made by a quick mind, but this is done without rigorous writing and editing. On the other there are times when Farnan wants to go down route one and so he says something really obvious or something almost nonsensical.

That said, there are some interesting insights here, for example into his choice of comedy over law and the inevitable financial implications of that decision. The easy-going comic also has some interesting things to say about socialists and the small print of Ryanair terms and conditions. Moreover, he works the crowd sufficiently well to leave them with a definite feelgood factor, despite depositing very little in their comedy bank.