Pleasance Late Show: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2013
Always Be Comedy: (2 shows) The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2017
Paul McCaffrey: Suburban Legend: Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, Edinburgh, 2017
Headliners Comedy Club: George IV pub, Chiswick, London, 2017
The Off The Kerb Showcase: The Comedy Store, London, 2018
Just The Tonic Saturday Night Comedy: Stables Market, Camden, London, 2019
Always Be Comedy (3 shows): The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2019
Paul McCaffrey: Lemon: Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh, 2019
Headliners Comedy Club: George IV pub, Chiswick, London, 2020
Always Be Comedy Online: (2 shows): Online: 2020
Always Be Comedy Live Stream: Online: 2020
Always Be Comedy Online: Online: 2021
The Return of The Craic Online Comedy Club: Online: 2021
The Confident Crow Comedy Club: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy Online: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy Online: The James Gill Roast: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2021
Boatshow Comedy: The Tattershall Castle, Embankment, London, 2021
Paul McCaffrey: Lemon: The Stand Comedy Club, Newcastle, 2021
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2022
Always Be Comedy Online: Online: 2022
Up The Creek Saturday Night Comedy: Up The Creek Comedy Club, Greenwich, London, 2022
Epic Comedy: Chichester City Football Club, Chichester, 2022
Paul McCaffrey: We Go Again: Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh, 2022
Headliners Comedy Club: George IV pub, Chiswick, London, 2023
Whatever the magic ingredient is that makes an audience effortlessly burst into consistent fits of laughter; Paul McCaffrey has it in spades. The London-based comedian simply has funny bones.
I saw McCaffrey perform his solo show Suburban Legend at the Counting House pub, Edinburgh in 2017. As I approached the pub with my friends, McCaffrey was outside the pub giving out flyers to passers-by. He handed me one and when he realised that I was already going to the show, he recognised me, hugged me and seemed genuinely delighted that I had turned up to his show. The show itself was brilliant. McCaffrey turned everyday experiences into hilarious anecdotes, and the expressions and impressions that accompanied them were as brilliant as they were over-the-top. He had a real story-telling ability, and vividly brought his antics to life.
Once again, when I saw him perform as a guest at Headliners Comedy Club, London in 2017, he heard my infamous laugh, gave me a thumbs-up and carried on with his set. The set again featured relatable stories qualified with brilliant imagery, fabulous expressions and a very emotive tone of voice which turned the show into a vibrant and amusing collection of events that could have happened to any member of the audience.
When we arrived at The Comedy Store in April 2018 for the Off The Kerb showcase, the venue was packed and there were hardly any seats for me and my friend. We stood at the back of the infamous venue and McCaffrey came up to me and shook my hand. He then found us two great seats before going on stage to deliver an extremely funny ten-minute set that brought the house down.
McCaffrey was a guest at Just The Tonic Saturday Night Comedy and was riding on the crest of a wave after a very successful tour supporting Kevin Bridges. McCaffrey has funny bones and tried and tested routines about the TV dating show Take Me Out and his view on the book Fifty Shades of Grey were so brilliantly executed with hilarious facial expressions and visual comedy that I was again exhausted from laughing.
McCaffrey made a welcome return to Always Be Comedy in May 2019 trying out brand new material for his 2019 Edinburgh Fringe show. At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, McCaffrey performed his new show Lemon that I saw in August 2019. Tales of married life and unfortunate mishaps created priceless set pieces that that had me crying with laughter. After the show, it was a joy to meet this extremely funny man. I was delighted to see that McCaffrey was on the bill for Always Be Comedy again in September and headlining in November 2019. He effortlessly commanded the stage and his ability to make literally anything funny through pin-point precise timing was something very special to witness.
It needs to be said that comedians must be shattered after trying to make audiences laugh night after night. Many have sets at more than one gig in an evening. When I met McCaffrey as he was about to headline Headliners Comedy Club in January 2020, he told me that Headliners was the second of three gigs he was booked to play that night. His enthusiasm on stage to create a laugh didn’t show any signs of tiring. He once again showed that he was a master of creating situations that generate belly laughter from an audience. His routines about holidays and weight loss were prize examples of perfectly delivered routines with expert comic timing. I have seen McCaffrey on stage many times, he has never given a bad performance and I would gladly watch him again, he is that good. I was convulsing with laughter again at the set I had recently seen him do, and my friend who I was with at Headliners and who had never seen him on stage, also absolutely loved him. There is something about his appearance, delivery or something more that makes him stand out and before he has hardly said anything, the audience were laughing at him.
In May and August 2020, McCaffrey appeared at Always Be Comedy Online. His experiences of coping with the lockdown during the worldwide pandemic were absolutely priceless, particularly a routine about what was on television which I was crying uncontrollably with laughter. The comedian appeared in the first Always B Comedy Live stream from The Tommyfield pub that I watched online in October 2020. His set featured a brilliant routine about his experience attending a music festival. He appeared on the bill again at Always Be Comedy Online and The Return of The Craic Online Comedy Club in January 2021 where, hysterically funny again, subjects covered included Apple watches the TV series The Vow, Car Boot Sales and adverts. As ever, he was wonderful to see and what is particularly pleasing is that he was still making me laugh and smile after the event – the sign of a truly great comedian.
I watched McCaffrey compere The Confident Crow Comedy Club Online where he is resident host. The comedian was superbly entertaining and hilarious with the audience warming them up for the main acts. The comedian was also a superb guest compere for Always Be Comedy Online in April 2021.
In June 2021, compere James Gill celebrated his birthday online at Always Be Comedy Online. An amazing line up of surprise comedians including McCaffrey as guest MC gave a no-holds-barred tribute ‘roast’ to the great man. The show was one of the funniest ninety-minutes of the year.
The comedian returned to live stand-up playing Always Be Comedy at The Tommyfield pub in Kennington in June 2021 and then again for Boatshow Comedy at The Tattershall Castle in August 2021. The audiences loved his timing and delivery and the naturally funny comedian made me laugh so much yet again and I could happily sit and watch him deliver his routine repeatedly.
In October 2021, McCaffrey appeared for Always Be Comedy’s 200th Online show delivering new material from inside his car! The light kept going out which caused much amusement but nevertheless he persevered and was hilarious as ever.
Also in October 2021, I went to Newcastle to stay with a friend for the weekend and we went to The Stand Comedy Club to see McCaffreys’ touring show Lemon. McCaffrey was brilliant with the Monday night audience as he described his struggle with technology, idiotic self-help books, setting fire to his oven gloves and other disasters. The stories told as ever with truth and honesty, he was painfully funny, and we both met him afterwards and told him so.
The comedian played Always Be Comedy both live and online in May 2022 previewing his new show We Go Again. One of the funniest and likeable comedians I know, his material was so relatable as he talked about life’s mishaps including an inspired routine about a cruise holiday.
I had seen McCaffrey four times live in the space of a month when I went to see him headline Up The Creek Saturday Night Comedy in May 2022 and perform for Epic Comedy in Chichester in July 2022 and then his solo show We Go Again at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2022. It didn’t matter that I had heard the material before, his delivery was laugh-out-loud hilarious. Sitting at the side of the stage, it was so great to see the audience respond as they did.
McCaffrey was a guest for Headliners Comedy Club in January 2023 where he delivered new material with such hilarity, he was wonderfully funny.
A great comedian, McCaffrey has always reduced me to convulsions of laughter. I could listen to McCaffrey time and time again and still find him hilariously funny. He is up there with the very best and one of my current favourite comedians on the circuit who I cannot recommend highly enough.