Theatre

Patrick Monahan: The Talkinator at the Lighthouse Poole Theatre Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mel S-W

It’s the 31st May, and what a show that Patrick Monohan brought to the Lighthouse in Poole. His Talkinator tour was just that … and he did talk! But boy was it funny! A popular performer on the Edinburgh Fringe circuit, they were rightly described as ‘A definite must-see!’ by Edinburgh Festivals Magazine—and I couldn’t agree more!

Tonight’s show was hosted in the Sherling Studio, a very intimate staging area that seats 130 people in unallocated seats. I find the studio great for live comedy shows such as this as you can really get your close to the action. I do, however, find the seats quite solid so I do get a bit fidgety towards the end of the show.

Patrick started the show by doing his own warm up and he really got to know the audience. The first half flew by and my guest and myself were really shocked when he announced that we should have gone to the interval minutes ago and that he had overrun. It definitely didn’t feel that way and I didn’t want any of the halves to finish! I thought he was very clever with his exchanges with the audience. It almost felt like he changed his entire show to fit with the content that the audience had given him and it just flowed.

He interacted with almost all audience members but it never felt like you were put on the spot too much and people didn’t mind getting involved. Patrick’s “The Talkinator” tour, which started in 2024 focuses on all things AI, expect talk of robots and AI taking over. Some very thought provoking as well as funny commentary and jokes on jobs, phone addiction and the way things have changed from “back in the day.” The funniest piece of comedy was talking about the winter fuel allowance and the government’s recommendation for the elderly to ride around on a bus for 4 hours a day to keep warm!

This was a one night only show at the Lighthouse with tickets costing £16.50. Patrick Monahan will be performing in the Sherling Studio which is a great space for an intimate comedy show. I’ve seen other shows in the Sherling Studio and have really enjoyed them.

The show was 2 hours long with an interval and is suitable for ages 16+. When the show finished Patrick said that he would be outside and we could chat to him, but I didn’t expect everyone to have a hug and a natter with him as we went out. It was great and he was so friendly!

I would give the show a rating of 5/5. He did extremely well with the crowd considering that it was a smaller audience. When he introduced himself at the start of the show he leaned right into the fact that the show wasn’t as full as it could be and commented on it being a sell out audience. He interacted with the audience so so well but I think had there been a larger audience there would have been more content for him to work with. I feel that everyone in the room actually got a bit of a private showing and I felt I knew the people in the audience when I left. A very intimate setting and show, and I’m definitely keeping an eye on Patrick’s socials and tours so I can go again next year!

For upcoming shows visit their What’s On Guide here https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/whats-on/
The full address is Lighthouse, Arts and Entertainment, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UG

Rating: 5/5

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