Having just won ITV’s Show Me the Funny the previous night, Patrick Monahan’s mood was one of pure ecstasy as he was pushed past a queuing audience into the venue two minutes before the opening of his stand-up set. This whirlwind of emotion would have been enough to throw many top comedians but Monahan harnessed it onstage and transferred it to his audience, who responded with pure glee.Monahan has an incredible gift for spontaneous humour, which, when combined with great warmth of character, makes for a special relationship with his audience. His jesting with the audience consisted only of gentle mocking and self-deprecation, never intimidating his audience through insults or expletives. What most comedians use as a five to ten minute warm-up, Monahan allows to extend to half an hour, until he realises that he really must begin his prepared material. By this point the audience are clambering into the palm of his hand, feeling relaxed enough to shout out their own jokes and even throw a condom onstage at a suitably comic moment.Due to the strength of spontaneity in the warm-up, the show itself, or what remains of it, feels a little forced. Monahan is clearly aware of his gentle charms and plays a bit too much on this. Gags such as an edition of The Price is Right which rates good deeds, come across as a little twee. Similarly, his anecdotes are enjoyable to listen to and make the audience smile, but are little more than comfy conversation, always enjoyable but easily attainable for free.A hug for each member of his audience is a nice extra to the show but doesn’t quite lift the audience from the slight lull of the last half an hour. An hour of audience interaction would be much better received.
