The tour title might suggest a laddie show but Carl Donnelly’s wild days are (mostly) passed: this is more like a fun pub catch-up with an old friend.
Donnelly’s conversational style is warm and inviting, as he weaves through anecdotes about the onset of middle age. Gone are the WhatsApp chats that can exist only in the cocooned safety of heavy encryption, and in are the dad chats.
He gently despairs at the Instagram algorithm’s changing perception of what he needs, and Alexa’s intervention at a spot of festive bonhomie. It’s neatly observed, charmingly delivered, and teasingly funny.
The second half could be bleak – dealing with serious illness for both Donnelly and his young daughter – but with both fully recovered he is able to talk about them with an amiable lightness. Some of the audience might also benefit from his frankness: prostate exams are less petrifying when peppered with laughs.
His 75 minute set is over too quickly, feeling like you’ve only just started to catch up; you really do wish he had time for another round.
- Carl Donnelly: Another Round is touring nationally, including Cambridge Junction on Saturday 6 December 2025.
