Richard Coughlan: Eat a Queer Foetus 4 Jesus

If this gig proves one thing, it's this: call your show Eat a Queer Foetus 4 Jesus and you will at least make people curious enough to attend. Richard Coughlan is the man at the door handing out flyers to his own show, the man at the bar directing you to the venue, the man who does his own introduction. He's the free fringe archetype and he has clearly worked hard to put an audience in front of him as there are very few empty seats.

He is manic in delivery and haggard in appearance, like an alt rock Fagin telling one too many masturbation jokes. Some of his gags fall flat, but he takes it in stride, seguing into a story of fundamentalism and religion. It's here that Coughlan hits his stride with an impassioned and personal anecdote of self-destruction and redemption, although the subject matter is too much for some audience members who opt to shuffle out early (though really, who brings kids to a show called ‘Eat a Queer Foetus 4 Jesus’?). A few misplaced heckles cause him to wobble, but he finishes strongly. It’s by no means a perfect set, but it’s definitely worth your time.