Derek Ryan: Time Lord @ Captain Taylor's Coffee House

As a man who has been late for everything in his adult life, Derek Ryan starts by confessing that maybe he’s not the best person to listen to about time. Despite that he has still prepared a further 50 minutes on the subject. It’s clear Ryan has tried to craft something with structure and a bit of purpose here, but it really amounts to little more than a series of very loosely connected routines. After all, time kind of affects everything.

It’s a shame because he does produce a handful of really quite funny ideas from it and his delivery could never be accused of lacking enthusiasm either. He frantically spits lines as if aware of time evaporating ahead of him. Sadly routines about how ‘dating was different back in the day’ or ‘isn’t religion a bit mad when you think about it?’ tend to actually slow time down. These are difficult topics to put a new spin on, and Ryan just has nothing worth adding. This is the main problem - he never makes much of a point. In the end he stumbles for a poignant 'make the most of your time' message but there’s been no real pre-cursor and ultimately it feels like a hollow sentiment.