Jarlath Regan has a great word of mouth appeal that has brought him two consecutive years of sell out shows at The Edinburgh Fringe, and from the moment he walks on stage it is clear to all why he is so popular. Some comedians are cruel and savage, with a savvy crowd doing all they can to avoid the front two rows, be it in case they become the entertainment when their script starts to lag, but in Regan’s case the crowds are keen to sit in the front row eager to chat with him and become involved in his routine. Charming and playfully cheeky his Irish charm has the audience right where he wants them and that is one hundred percent on his side.
He just comes across as such a likeable character and at one point tells a sweet little story about how about how badly he wants to get a dog and the face he pulls to his girlfriend to try and convince her. He’s funny and endlessly charming. Though to those more familiar with Regan’s work it is clear that something isn’t quite right in his routine, he seems to have lost some of his confidence, overly emphasising when a joke about Wolverine and his leather jacket fails to get a belly laugh. It’s only when he tells the crowd about a recent gig at a prison that went disastrously wrong were he failed to get a single laugh from them that the audience can understand his mindset.
But this is the Fringe, not a prison and this man can wring out more laughs in the first ten minutes than some comedians in their whole set.
4/5 
Martin Miller
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