Comedy review: Michael Winslow, The Man of 10,000 voices - Glasgow King’s Theatre

The best-known sound-effect comic on the planet, Michael Winslow will be forever associated with his role as motor-mouth Sergeant Jones in the Police Academy movies, not least as he’s returning to the role in 2013 for an eighth instalment.

A jaw-droppingly accomplished mimic, he’s only a mediocre stand-up, and this show veered wildly between the outstanding and the banal. The American sets himself up as an easily piqued prankster, bamboozling those who annoy him on planes, in supermarkets and hotels with phantom noises.

His vocal range is staggering, fortunately, as his observations are almost universally trite, notwithstanding efforts to localise them with references to Paisley, Ryanair and Tesco.

Just as you’re struggling to maintain concentration, though, he’ll segue into one of his standout set-pieces. The story of his father instructing him to build his own radio is a case in point – a slow, unfocused set-up that suddenly becomes a virtuoso display of his skill.

Impressively, he recreates virtually every sound in a Star Wars battle sequence, synching with the action on a giant screen behind him.

But he’s at his most mesmerising channelling the sound of rock gods: Creedence Clearwater Revival, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, before his signature turn as Jimi Hendrix, which almost justifies the admission price alone.

Rating: ****