A smart stand-up comedian who identifies as an Irish peasant, a performance that leaves you feeling slapped in the face by a fish, and a more tolerable Jack Whitehall figure: reviews of shows performed 25 August, 2026.
Roger O’Sullivan: Divil May Cry
Monkey Barrel 2 at Monkey Barrel Comedy
Roger O’Sullivan is a smart and likeable stand-up
Roger O’Sullivan – Divil May Cry
Andy Beill
The smart and likeable Roger O’Sullivan shares his lineage from the peasants and the ancestral Rogers who came before him in rural Ireland, where ambition is a sin and ‘being atheist is the most Protestant thing you can do’.
Yes there are stories of growing up in the Catholic church, of differences with the English, and why the Irish don’t much care for Bono. Predictable topics perhaps but none of this feels thrown in for an easy laugh.
There are a few inventive frills and props on top of his regular spoken material that all work well without taking this show into gimmick territory at all.
Roger O’Sullivan is a thoughtful and intelligent show writer and a warm and engaging presence on stage. ★★★★☆
Jonno: Here Comes Mr Funny
Monkey Barrel 2 at Monkey Barrel Comedy
Jonno’s comedic brain is subversive and highly imaginative
Jonno – Here Comes Mr Funny
Andy Beill
Once a Fringe regular in the legendary sketch group Sheeps and now head writer for SNL UK, Jonno’s debut solo hour includes several elements of musical comedy. These range from the daft but sticky office-based doo wop opener and banjo-plucked encounter with a cowboy, to the sublime bigger set pieces parodying James Bond theme tunes and a West End show (in creative ways I won’t spoil here.) But actually over the course of the hour, there’s a lot more stand-up and occasional bits of crowd work than would be fair to reduce this to being described as a musical act.
His deadpan Yorkshire delivery lures you into believing every setup before the killer punchline. So much so, he even utilises ‘the chair of sincerity’ to assure the audience when he’s not leading them up the garden path.
Jonno’s comedic brain is subversive and highly imaginative, and some of his musical numbers will get in your head. You could argue, nobody does it better. ★★★★★
Monkey Barrel 2 at Monkey Barrel Comedy
I left feeling like I’d just been Tango’d
Kate Dolan – Trout
Andy Beill
I’m still not quite sure how to sum up what I saw here. Kate Dolan says her act has been described as ‘an ADHD fever dream… I don’t have it’. Big performance doesn’t do it justice. I left feeling like I’d just been Tango’d.
There isn’t a moment’s breath. At any point she could break into a random accent, song or dance. You won’t see it coming, and she’ll be onto her next bit of patter before you know it.
She starts by telling the crowd ‘let’s take the roof off’ and certainly on this night she does that. Some of the audience are in fits of laughter throughout at the unrestrained silliness. If you prefer more subtlety this might not be for you, but you can’t deny it’ll keep you engaged and on your toes. “We shouldn’t be uncomfortable with loud and weird women,” she says. While not exactly a relaxing experience, so capable she is at all the twists and turns of her stage presence I wouldn’t call it an uncomfortable one either.
Some people will absolutely love this madcap experience. Others probably need to get out of their lane just for an hour to see what it’s like in this alternative universe. ★★★½☆
Finlay Christie: Champagne Casanova
Monkey Barrel 4 at Monkey Barrel Comedy
Finlay Christie sits somewhere comedically between Jack Whitehall and Rob Beckett if he’d come from money, but don’t let that put you off
Finlay Christie – Champagne Casanova
Andy Beill
To say that Finlay Christie sits somewhere comedically between Jack Whitehall and Rob Beckett if he’d come from money, might turn some people off straight away. He doesn’t shy away from the fact he’s from a rich boy world, but he’s more relatable than that and doesn’t fully position himself as a pompous ego encouraging you to bring on the hate; leave that to Jimmy Carr. He’s more likely to pick on an even richer member of the audience as a figure of fun. And the writing is undeniably strong.
It’s exactly the type of late-night act you’d expect to see in the underground, youthful Monkey Barrel 4 venue (Champagne not served). ★★★½☆