If laughter is your drug, the new craic dealer in town delivers. Dara O’Briain’s wit and charm suggest that this man has not merely kissed the Blarney Stone, but possibly sniffed it a few times too.

As with most stand-ups, those in front row seats should consider themselves as potential props likely to become part of the evening’s entertainment. However, there is something special about O’Briain’s friendly and breathtakingly fast rapport with his willing victims that allows you to laugh comfortably with them.

Our audience included a man from Didcot whose knowledge of the power station included its status as the UK’s 39th highest structure, an accountant for Walkers about to embark on a two-day crisp factory tour and a group of sixth-formers, deemed too inexperienced to be worthy of much interaction, all skillfully weaved into the fabric of the show.

The diverse material forming the basis for Craic Dealer has the ability to make you shake with laughter and scatter your popcorn. O’Briain delivered a hilarious portrayal of a school nativity, ridiculed mediums and astrology, described the terror of being chatted up at 39 by a 53-year-old and shared his theory of women being used by the media to provide “something for the dads”.

As we all queued for toilets in the interval (during the show not one person had either dared to go or just didn’t want to miss a second), O’Briain was surfing the net. At the end he delighted in exposing Mr Didcot as a liar – the power station is actually the 53rd highest structure.

An outstanding Derren Brown moment, particularly relished by O’Briain, for resurrecting numbers featured earlier in the show...be warned, he really pays attention!