Kevin McAleer and others

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Kevin McAleer first introduced his "auld lad" persona on Nighthawks in the very early 1990s. He is a delightfully surreal character, with cleverly constructed stories based on a literal and naive understanding of popular culture and behaviour. Genuinely innovative and inventive when originally created, it is a pity that the auld lad is still spouting material that McAleer first performed many years ago.

His discussion of Kojak, or description of his enormous family watching the TV for hours - before granny suggests turning it on - is very, very good, but we've heard it all before and he badly needs some new routines. The audience was not particularly enamoured of the act, either, aside from some contemporary Northern references he threw in. An earlier guest, Gerry Mallon, in contrast, was entertaining and comfortable on stage with a routine that touched on his native Ballindine and the birth of his children.