Michael Redmond: Mannequins, Fishmongers, Guacamole and Me... and Other Things

You probably know Michael Redmond as Father Stone. Maybe you know of him from his Sunday Service at the Glasgow Stand or from his diverse 25 year standup career, where he famously became a victim of plagiarism by Joe Pasquale. Whatever his reputation, today it has garnered him a small but enthusiastic crowd who, on this occasion, seem unusually comfortable with heckling. But Redmond’s tone is totally relaxed and it’s clear that he is more than capable of using his dry wit to control the situation. Indeed, this fits well with the first section of the show, which seems quite free-form and allows a bit of space for Redmond to familiarize himself with the room. He then segues easily into material which is delivered with precision, some strong pieces of observational humour combine nicely with a hint of the surreal to form an amusing set.

While it’s easy to sit back and enjoy Redmond talk about whatever is in his head, his catchphrase "what was I talking about?" tends to punctuate reams of unrelated work with no real consistent theme. This doesn’t detract too much from the humour but it does give the feel of random silliness rather than a show with a point or a bold statement to make. Still, you can’t help but relish in Redmond’s presence and the low budget filmed sketch he shows at the end nicely ties some of the themes together in a slightly shambolic but genuinely likeable way.