Walking into Lawrence Mooney: Full Moon Party WIP, I had never heard of Lawrence Mooney, something I quickly realised put me in the minority. The moment he stepped onstage and began slipping into his well loved characters, the audience lit up like they were greeting old friends. I worried I was about to spend an hour hearing other peoples' in-jokes, but it genuinely didn’t matter; Mooney pulls you into his world whether you’ve been following him for years or you’re coming in cold.

This is a true WIP, work in progress, in the purest, most unapologetic sense. Mooney makes no attempt to hide the seams. Instead, he invites you right into the creative workshop, glancing around the room mid bit as if deciding in real time whether a joke survives to tomorrow’s show or dies on the spot. It’s chaotic, but that’s the fun of it. You feel like you’re in on something creative, unpolished, and alive.

When his version of a certain politician appeared, the room erupted, and from that moment he had the audience joyfully eating out of his hand. Even the moments where he lost his place or fussed with his notes only added to the charm, he’d built so much goodwill so early that the imperfections became part of the comedy.

I’m still not entirely sure what the 'full moon party' theme was contributing, but honestly? That mystery is part of the appeal. Go on a different night and you’ll probably get a new twist, a new tangent, maybe even a show that makes sense in a new way!