Sporting a Portal T-shirt and with a keen anticipation, I entered the International Bar to see Game Boys. As a lifelong fan of video games, I was hugely excited at the prospect of video-game themed comedy. Looking on the stage as I entered, I noticed a Gamecube, two controllers and a projector.  With a packed house waiting, all that remained was the entrance of the boys; did they deliver on my fanboy expectations?

The performance began with an introduction by two confident young men in suits. They explained the structure of the show to us while exchanging comedic banter with one another. The structure was as follows; the two Game Boys would take pot-shots at each other with “Your Mama” insults and then take turns, performing individually for ten minutes at a time. To determine what order they would perform in, the boys played a game of Smash Bros Melee, the winner would take to the stage first.

When the Game Boys arrived on stage we were introduced to Irishman David and American Kevin. The ‘Your Mama’ segment was quite standard fare but the quips were video game themed, this drew great laughs from the audience and it was easy to identify the hardcore gamers of the audience by the levels of reaction to some of the more geeky jokes. The boys then engaged in their friendly game on stage to determine the order of the set.

The first solo segment was provided by Cavan native David and proved to be a wonderful start to the proceedings. Moving away from the topic of games, David talked about racist taxi drivers, shared some hilarious stories from his hometown, his time abroad in America and even made some great jokes about the pretentiousness of Urban Outfitters (something which this reviewer can particularly identify with). In his second segment, he gave us a memorable story about history & philosophy which went down very well with the crowd. David displayed a great charm and quiet confidence on the stage. Immediately likable and very witty; he delivered articulate, well thought out and hilarious laughs in both his sets.

The sanguine and likeable sense of energy from American lad Kevin were also a treat and his less reserved style lent itself well to the performance overall. Highlights of his sets included tips on how to look taller, discussions about violence in video games and a hilarious quip about how many facebook “Friends” he has.  Intelligent and relatable tales of his experiences living in Ireland were well delivered and he clearly gets what makes Irish people tick.

The Game Boys surprised me in many ways. While I had expected the set to focus almost solely on games/nerdiness, what I found was an accessible, funny, charming and intelligent performance by some very talented young lads. Of course there is a lot to appreciate here as a gamer but the energetic and thoughtful humour on show here makes it easy to recommend to any fan of comedy.

If you want to see the lads in action check out their facebook pages here; David Reilly, Kevin Lockard