EDINBURGH 2023: Review: SHANE DANIEL BYRNE: BUT HE'S GAY, Gilded Balloon

But He’s Gay is Irish comedian Shane Daniel Byrne’s debut hour at the Fringe. Having quit his job before heading to the Fringe, he’s starting to feel like a lot is riding on this going well.

Perhaps most importantly in a comedy show, Shane Daniel Byrne is very, very funny. During lockdown he went viral on social media with some character comedy videos and he discusses the differences of the interactions between straight men and women in their 40s and 50s on his posts. 

Now. So far in this festival, I’ve had two acts tell me that the performance I came to was the worst of the run. I have a sneaky feeling that Byrne might add himself to the list of people I have cursed with my presence. Partway through the show, the microphone cut out and it definitely threw him. 

After some light encouragement from the audience, he continued the show projecting his voice but was clearly distracted by the technical issue. It was fine, everyone was fine! This happened late enough in the show that the audience had already grown fond of this charismatic man. The air conditioning unit had also broken and flyers (adorned with Byrne's face) were given out as fans to try and keep everyone cooler. Byrne remarked that this was also a very strange experience watching a room full of people waving his own face back at him. 

Getting back into his stride made this debut all the more impressive. There are some absolutely brilliant jokes in this show along with some personal storytelling. Shoutout to Gavin the tech for getting things back up and running. Little snags like this are what makes the Fringe the Fringe.

But He’s Gay is a beautifully crafted funny show made all the better for the obstacles thrown at it.

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