I didn’t know what to expect when it came to Irish comedian Ed Byrne’s show ‘Tragedy Plus Time’.

I’ve seen him multiple times on the now-cancelled BBC panel show ‘Mock The Week’, and I always found him to be relatively funny. Apart from that, I didn’t know much about him.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by Friday’s show at the Gaiety Theatre - it was fantastic.

The show tests the theory of humour being ‘Tragedy Plus Time’, a quote attributed to American author Mark Twain. Ed attempts to test that formula by mining the most tragic event in his life for laughs - the death of his younger brother Paul.

Despite the already set-in-stone material, Ed still managed to start off the show by humorously criticising Ronaldsway Airport after his flight was delayed, with the ‘two blokes up in the control tower taking the night off’.

Early on, he also told the story of how his car was robbed in Chiswick despite it being an upper-class area, before stating: ‘Don’t worry Douglas, you’re safe’.

The 52-year-old was springy and light on his feet, very rarely standing still and clinging on to the microphone stand for dear life during the first half of the show in which he went off on a tangent one too many times for my liking.

However, after the interval, Ed told the story of his brother’s death with intricacy, heart and fondness.

He referred to his disdain of the term ‘Irish goodbye’, and proceeded to tell the audience (whom which he repeatedly referred to as ‘Douglas’) that his brother had indeed left without telling anyone at a bar before a comedy show before he became sick.

Ed then detailed how him and his mother waited a number of hours while Paul lay on his death bed years later, and they both decided to get some air. When they returned to the hospital room, they found that Paul had passed away in their absence.

Ed loudly told Douglas: ‘One last Irish goodbye, you ******!’

A concurrent theme throughout the show was also the regret Ed felt at lost time with his brother, due to them both falling out over an argument and not speaking to each other for a number of months not long before he died.

He encouraged the audience to reach out to those they’ve fallen out with and no longer speak to, while also asking us to spread the word.

He said: ‘What greater way to learn this than through my own show? Spread the word, especially if you have friends in Liverpool. I perform there on Sunday night.’

Ed mastered the fine line between humour and tragedy, as such a sad and downbeat story was turned into a cacophony of laughter and delight.

While I don’t think Ed will be keeping his eyes peeled for the Manx Independent’s review (we’re not exactly the Edinburgh Fringe...), I’m sure he’d be glad to read that this show gets a four out of five stars from me.