They say the art of comedy is timing; it is therefore ironic that in a show about time we aren’t given enough of it to enjoy the jokes.
Derek Ryan: Timelord rockets through every aspect of Time in our lives. It is information comedy: a style reminiscent of Eddie Izzard, only without the surrealism. While nothing particularly edifying is revealed, we still cover a dizzying array of topics, from the invention of time by Stone Age cavemen, through aging, changing, midlife crises, mortality, punctuality, time zones, space, outer space and time travel.
Ryan has chosen a fine subject for a set and has a lot of decent material. This could well be entertaining and hilarious - unfortunately in this preview show he appears nervous: he hurries his delivery, seeming flustered and uncertain, wasting long set-ups by throwing away the punch lines before we have time to respond.
The set is soundly structured but reincorporation only works if we are invested in the joke by having laughed at it in the first place – or at the very least having dwelled on it for long enough to give it some significance. Similarly the ending, which is a well conceived round up of the previous hour, feels like a rehashing of flops rather than revisiting of favourites.
He is Irish, charming and has a pleasant demeanour but in this performance he just wasn’t that funny. Perhaps he was unsure whether to expect laughs. At any rate he pounded through the set at such a clip we had no opportunity to laugh whether we wanted to or not.
Aside from this, the performance was a preview and as the month continues I am sure he will relax and find his stride. He has the making of a good show in this material and with more measured pacing it could be a good time.
