Joining the ranks of slightly nerdy comedians who primarily joke about their non-existent sex lives,
A fun and youthful comic
Kealy is the first to admit that his comedy is “low energy”, and it also has a pleasantly geeky feel, with references to Oedipus and Copernicus within the first ten minutes, and extended gags about Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings later on. His punchlines tend to be clever and original, and the tone is amusingly downbeat. Laughing about your disastrous sex life is hardly virgin territory for stand-ups (pun intended), but Kealy’s deadpan delivery suits the indulgently downbeat content.
Whilst half of the comedy focused on Kealy’s crushing loneliness, the other half turned to politics –with less success. Part of the problem was that Kealy’s material was out of date: most of the set harked back to the immediate aftermath of Brexit, and most jokes about this week or so of British politics have already been made. When he showed the interview in which Farage is called out for his ‘mistake’ about the £350 million for the NHS, it felt a little stale after the amount of times the video has been mocked on panel shows. It was satisfying that even those with only a passing knowledge of recent British politics could get the humour, but there were few original insights into current affairs.
The overall impression, however, was of a fun and youthful comic: Kealy’s use of a TV for amusing Photoshopping and parodies seemed appropriate for a generation growing up with viral videos and memes. His slow and intentionally awkward delivery could sometimes put the room on edge – when a joke didn’t receive a laugh there was generally a good wait until the next punchline – but most of the time Kealy’s style worked a treat. Though not the man for sharply observed political commentary, Kealy’s stand-up is still better than most and always enjoyable.
