Preview Nov 10

PROVOCATIVE CHORTLE TIME
The Sunday Times 07.11.10

The XFM Stand-up Comedy Show, having firmly established its popularity over the years, is now in its 13th edition, and promises to fulfil the high expectations surrounding it. On offer this year (20, 21 November) is a mix of observational and autobiographical comedy, but don’t lean back too comfortably in your seats – there’s still plenty of bite.

Multi-award winner and nominee Andrew Maxwell combines a politically-astute act with a highly engaging onstage manner, effortlessly winning audiences over, all the way from his native Dublin to Las Vegas. Voted Best Irish Comedian by the public at the Entertainment.ie awards and Comic’s Comic by Chortle, he has also carved out a career in TV, including appearances on the popular satirical programme ‘Have I Got News for You’, as well as having his own series, ‘Smoke and Mirrors’, on Ireland’s RTE. Chortle reviews describe Maxwell as ‘cheeky’, ‘cocky’, ‘playful’ – this stance however is deceptively flippant, as Maxwell daringly delves into some provocative material. Indeed, this daring perhaps goes hand in hand with his ‘cheek’ – and his playfulness no way downplays the often charged content, allowing him rather to tackle it with all the more audacity.

Jo Caulfield takes a more conversational approach – she balances barbed and sardonic wit with an ability to create a warmly chatty atmosphere. Her experience as compere (and, formerly, waitress) means she can handle any audience with devastating flair and self-assurance. She was nominated in the ‘Best Female Stand-up’ category on Chortle in 2002, and has gone from strength to strength. She is a highly critically-acclaimed comedy-writer, with credits that include the Bafta-winning ‘So Graham Norton’. Caulfield has toured the UK with her stand-up and one-woman shows, and travelled farther afield – taking in Berlin, Singapore, and Los Angeles, amongst other places.

Barry Castagnola has dabbled in music parody, comedy sketches, and character-comedy, in addition to ‘straight’ stand-up. Castagnola’s straight-talking attitude is disarmingly candid, and characterised by in-yer-face ‘blokiness’ – though a self-deprecating readiness to set himself up as comic target prevents it slipping into ‘laddish’ territory. His career in comedy kicked off at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, and he has gone on to become an established comedian on the international and UK circuits. He is familiar to TV audiences as one-third of the spoof eco-warrior dance-music act Cyderdelic (with Marc Wootton and Liam Woodman), frequently featuring on Channel 4′s ‘11 O’Clock Show’. Shortly after winning the BBC2 Green Light Award for comedy, Cyderdelic garnered their own six-part series on BBC3: ‘Cyderdelic: The Revolution Will Be Televised’. He was also a regular on television screens notably as a cast member of the Channel 4 comedy ‘Experimental’, ITV’s ‘Oblivious’, and presenter of ‘The Yes/No Gameshow’ on Bravo.

Autobiographical comedy, tinged with observational – a friendly atmosphere, edged with the discomfort of self-recognition, lurking never far around the corner… Like most of the best stand-up comedy, this XFM edition promises to be sharp and thought-provoking, but also – and perhaps more importantly – utterly hilarious.

For more information about this event please visitwww.laughoutloud.com.mt or call hotline 9942 5265. Tickets may be purchased from selected outlets or online via PayPal where tickets may be collected one hour prior to the show. Don’t miss it; tickets for this event sell out fast!

Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone