Rory O'Hanlon: Don't Drink Don't Smoke

An Irish comedian has to do a lot to stand out from the crowd, and Rory O'Hanlon is unfortunately quintessentially Irish. Gregarious and charming, he immediately strikes a rapport with the audience, using his lovely accent, relaxed delivery and very ginger hair. In a festival saturated with his countrymen, it's possibly this that means this talented comedian is left performing to a only half a room.

O'Hanlon manfully battles on through his material, drawing on his experiences of travelling on cheap coaches and being a foreigner in the UK. His intriguingly-titled show Don't Drink Don't Smoke suffers as he seems put off by the number of empty chairs. One of the highlights was a skit about inexcusable bad behaviour on a night out with a woman that couldn't be blamed on too much booze. However, gags about smoking didn't seem to materialise, leaving the feeling a significant part of the show had been aborted.

O'Hanlon filled in the gaps by bantering with the audience, which is an obvious talent of his, but overall it seems this smart and funny comedian needs an audience to make it work.