Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Ray O’Leary: Your Laughter Is Just Making Me Stronger
Ray O'Leary
Genre: Comedy
Venue: Assembly George Square
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Ray O’Leary: Your Laughter Is Just Making Me Stronger is a stand up show from comedian Ray O’Leary. The New Zealand native brings a unique blend of old and new styles to this multi-topic hour of stand up.
Review
Ray O’Leary delivered a seamlessly executed masterclass in classic stand up comedy. His set steered clear of long and meandering stories (although there is plenty of room in comedy for this as well), and focused on short and concise jokes with quick and witty punchlines. Although he took a more classic approach stylistically, O’Leary’s jokes were well received and felt relevant to a modern fringe audience. For a show that had no central theme, there was still a sense of flow and momentum. O’Leary craftily connected the start and finish giving the set a lovely bookend feeling. There was a clear rhythm to the jokes which set the pace and helped the audience understand the why behind each slight shift in tone or style. Overall, the show had a great structure from which to build upon.
In risking contradiction, O’Leary’s show contained a number of abnormal jokes and gags. His strength comes from making something new feel familiar. Asking for an audience reaction and rehearsing it as a group would not fall under the umbrella of classic comedy. It did, however, contribute to a joke that was built on a tried and true structure. Instead of building suspense through excessive language, O’Leary forced the audience into a holding pattern as the room collectively figured out the joke. Once happy with the result, the punchline came straight through. O’Leary’s ability to make a two sentence joke last ten minutes would be a tremendous problem had the audience not been asking for it again for it to happen again.
O’Leary’s energy and delivery varied throughout the show. He came on with energy and found genuine humour (even cracking a smile) at certain moments of audience reaction. The rest of the time, however, he maintained a near dead-to-the-world face and tone. This isn’t horribly unique in the world of comedy but, again, O’Leary’s successful mix of the old and new serves him well. There’s an obvious association to be made between the content of a show and the schtick of the comedian. A set of pure self-deprecation is what you’d expect from a monotone speaking man dressed like a personal injury attorney. Beyond poking fun at the fact that he chose a career in comedy (after a degree in philosophy) O’Leary rarely speaks ill of himself. When contrasted with the physical presentation the audience is given, the jokes become all the more amusing. There is a great deal of comedy in subversion, and O’Leary capitalizes greatly on it.
