This show is a lightning-paced stand-up comedy performed in the attic of Pleasance Courtyard. The backdrop is not only appropriate, but accentuates some pretty serious themes running through Pat Cahill’s show, Start. After a streamlined introduction and some ill-advised but admittedly witty advice regarding our formative years, Pat presses onward, painting a stark picture of life. He does so with the aid of a self-demeaning, humorous song (there’s one for every monologue) detailing a number of small crises one might face over the course of a week. Despite Pat’s expeditious mannerisms, ‘Never say Die’ attitude and commendable show material, there was, however, one shortcoming. Owing to the sheer speed of the act, there were repeated instances in which the show seemed to power onwards, foregoing any time for the audience to absorb the material and let out a good laugh. The crowd seemed periodically saturated with information.
Nonetheless, one cannot help but sympathise with the disenfranchised individual in front of us who manages to procure a few laughs in a bizarre form of ‘speed therapy’. As Cahill has evidently discovered, anybody with the self-initiative to bake a layer cake is probably experiencing a midlife confectionary crisis. As an added bonus, showgoers are also introduced to a brand new drinking game (I say new because after two years of university, this was the first I’d ever heard of it). In sum, Pat Cahill: Start is an invitation to have a laugh at our own expense. A reminder, regardless of what predicament we may find ourselves in, to take everything a little less seriously. Armed with a few drinks and an open mind, this show is bound to produce a laugh from all but the most solemn and serious.
