If you missed Carl Donnelly’s Fringe show in 2009, for which he was nominated Best Newcomer, you should make sure you go see 2010’s “How do you solve a problem like Carl Donnelly?”
At first his laid-back, conversational style throws you; there is no real build-up, no punch-line, just easygoing, slightly rambling anecdotes, a bit like listening to one of your funnier mates down the pub. But this is all part of Donnelly’s appeal and approach and once accustomed to his rhythm, you find yourself happily going along with him.
What also makes it work is that Donnelly has a gift for brightening the mundane and the everyday with a sense of the surreal and a real sense of good-natured fun. Moreover, he seems to genuinely enjoy the experience and this carefree, almost low-key style is infectious.
As for the material, the theme running through this year’s show is very much how he’s changed since almost becoming famous. This brings in everything from concerns about the effects of fame on someone who was, in his younger years, a bit of a self-confessed twat; to the perils of being recognised at excruciatingly embarrassing moments in public. Making tea, hotel-room masturbation and anecdotes about a lad’s holiday in the Med may not be new material, but Donnelly’s delivery gives them the equivalent of a fresh lick of paint, with comic asides, unscripted diversions and audience participation all combining to good effect. Indeed, he clearly enjoys a bit of banter with the audience, which reveals more of his affable personal, quick wit and deceptively easygoing style.
As for those killer punch-lines, he even manages a few of those too once the pace picks up, so take yourself along, sit back, relax, and enjoy.
4/5 
Lee McRonald
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