When Andrew O’Neill starts his show with a ditty advising how to cook baby meat, swiftly followed by challenging an elderly woman in the front row to ‘a fight in the rain’, it is obvious that the audience is in for a unique hour of comedy. The fact that O’Neill is a genial chap might seem unbelievable but it is undeniable. The lager-swilling transvestite, whose appearance makes it look as if he’s lost a bet for perpetuity, leads us through a smorgasbord of the comedy world. Guitar-playing, story-telling, and film-making all feature. There’s also a charming little play about gravy.O’Neill describes how, since his teenage years, he’s attempted to live an alternative lifestyle. This is particularly evident in an illuminating 20-minute tale about his hitchhiking experiences. O’Neill demonstrates his skills as a raconteur of the highest order. The audience hangs on his every word. Although there is a loose framework - the alternative - that binds the show together, in general it’s a disjointed hour. Somehow, O’Neill manages to pull this off. The scatter-gun nature of his show simply adds to its attraction. O’Neill has that most invaluable of commodities in a comic: the ability to have sway over an audience without even trying. While elements of the show are certainly self-indulgent, in general, from the caustically dark to the life affirming, O’Neill delivers a real tour de force.
