Not many comedians have the skill to talk about terrorism and not only convince you that they know what they're talking about but also to make it funny! The slow, unassuming Belfast drawl and the appearance of being trapped in one of the worst hangovers ever known to man, does make you listen and warm to Michael Smiley quite quickly! He reminisces calmly about his childhood and the anecdotes though funny must be not too far from the truth! You are almost inclined to feel sorry for Smiley, hang-dog eyes and all! He moves on with stories of his own children and points out the inevitability that we all turn into our parents at some point!

These anecdotes can only go so far and Smiley counters this by slipping in some superb one liners here and there which keep the audience's attention. His interaction with the crowd was excellent; the importance of a good rapport with your audience is obviously not lost on him. He was thriving on the quality of the venue, you could tell this by the occasional burst of energy, or sometimes, aggression at an incident in his past! If any room for improvement can be identified, it would perhaps be a need to cover a wider range of subjects, but this would merely serve to make an already very good act even better.