Ed Byrne: Tragedy Plus Time review – grief, regret and lots of laughter

Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh
In an affecting set, the comic reflects on his younger brother’s death and the importance of holding loved ones close

It is said that comedy is tragedy plus time – and it’s taken Ed Byrne time to address the death last year of his brother, the comedy director Paul. So much time that three shows at last year’s fringe, each by a bereft colleague of Paul’s, got there first. That in no way diminishes the power of 51-year-old Ed’s account, which traces not only the younger man’s illness, hospitalisation and death, but the pair’s fraught relationship leading up to it. This is not, as Byrne himself is surprised to realise, a show about death so much as reconciliation – it’s about holding your loved ones close, despite everything, while you have the chance.

In the hands of a less experienced act, the comedy and tragedy might (and often do) make for a cumbersome mix. But there are no grinding gear shifts in Tragedy Plus Time, which is open about Byrne’s grief and regret while never letting them occlude the laughter. It helps that the spiky relationship between the siblings – both comedy professionals, remember – is manifest on stage, as Ed jokes about Paul’s diagnosis of liver failure (“there was a certain amount of user error there”) and celebrates the black humour behind the soundtrack he chose for his own cremation.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/G9DB1XK

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