Russell Howard review: It's comedy incorrectness gone good

Published on Monday 6 October 2008 09:55

Russell Howard *** King's Theatre CONGESTION charges, child protection laws and once a week wheelie bin collections are at the centre of Russell Howard's new show, his fury at the "it's political correctness gone mad!" brigade the most memorable section of a set packed with random anecdotes, odd happenings and improvised asides.

Howard paced the stage like an impatient young boy, wide-eyed musings on his childhood mixing with more recent events to provide a catalogue of awkward moments delivered with little sign of embarrassment.

Such is Howard's air of innocence that even the most bizarre stories endeared him to the audience, particularly the female section. Whether wearing his friend's mum's swimming costume as a cape or hiding under his brother's bed during "intimate" moments, the more explicit the better for the comedian's fans.

While Howard's rant at Daily Mail readers who complain about the world going mad with every new law passed was the most consistent part of the show, his thoughts on the world around us offering up inspired nuggets of observational humour, the sheer volume of stories and tangents did mean some were rendered instantly forgettable.

At the conclusion, Howard returned to the stage to ask the audience what he should do next in Edinburgh. With improvisational skills coming to the fore, his subsequent jump into the stalls to find a ginger girl to lick Rolo yoghurt off the face of his support act offered a typically random end to an unpredictable evening.