Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2013 – REVIEW – Gary Delaney 2: This Time It’s Not Personal ****.5

Gary Delaney 2: This Time It’s Not Personal, Pleasance Upstairs 9:45pm, until 25 Aug, £12/10 (£10/8.50 concessions)

One-liners are plentiful in this hilarious set by Gary Delaney which is deftly dark and moreish. Delaney’s fearless nature goes head-to-head with his lighter material, culminating in humour that everyone over the age of 16 can tuck into.

Delaney was incensed about coming fifth in Dave’s top-10 compilation of Fringe 2013 jokes with:- “I can give you the cause of anaphylactic shock in a nutshell.” He showed the comments section of an article concerning the winning jokes which asked for suggestions from readers, one of which was a joke he had created and shared on Twitter two years previously. He wanted to confirm the success of the joke by showing the online search stats, highlighting the frustration all comics must feel when others claim their material is original when it is not.

Thrown into the mix are Delaney’s ‘Dear Deirdre’ problem letters and two minor mime scenes, during which he continuously looks set to melt in sweat. He takes a break from the hot lights by dimming them to share his Wikipedia article edits that are well-considered and highly humourous.

At the end of the performance there is a ‘hand-out’ of other puns Delaney does not manage to deliver during the set. This novel approach to sending the audience on their way is admirable. Once home, you can expect to read a full page of even more one-liners, including:- “If I ever find the guy who messed up my limb transplants, I’m going to kill him with my bear hands” and “I once applied for a job as a mustard cutter but unfortunately I wasn’t quite good enough.” Brilliant.