Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Some people are just larger than life, some even make life large by pointing out the very small details, the details that are so acutely insane that they deserve to be picked out, shaken and handed to the audience as if they were small chewable nuggets of how to get through a crazy but memorable life.
There is a dwelling of myth and magic
deep in the heart of the British countryside,
a place near Burnley
where Polytunnels do reside.
They are grown in this place near Burnley
in secret, tested by Hamsters and a six foot Guinea Pig,
chased by unicorns and frolicking maidens called Rebecca
and mused over by a comedian whose reputation is big.
The Polytunnel holds many secrets
in the place near Burnley,
a shorter commute for the weary traveller,
closer than Liverpool anyway, surely?
When research is over
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
For some older viewers there will never be another broadcaster or journalist to replace the calm authorative voice of Alan Whicker as the beacon of bringing scenes and a wide range of interesting people from other countries into the home. Perhaps there never will be his like again, like Jan Morris or Bill Bryson in literature, the essence of the reporting is quintessential to the understanding. They are also arguably for some the reason why they found their own adventures and did incredible things; the world after all is too small to be ignored and Dara O’ Briain and Ed Byrne are too good to be dismissed.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 23rd 2012.
L.S. Media Rating *****
Before the curtain was raised even one inch on what became a night of high class comedy, the gentle and uplifting music of Neil Hannon’s Divine Comedy classic The Lost Art of Conversation filtered through the auditorium and to the awaiting, patient audience’s ears as they took their seats. If there is a song that fits perfectly the nature of comedy gig by Dara O’ Briain, then the man and his conversation surely is the one.