Doug Stanhope at the Leicester Square Theatre

From the crowd that was milling about as we took our seats in the cosy Leicester Square Theatre you’d be forgiven for thinking you were at the wrong gig. It was easily the most diverse crowd of people I’ve ever witnessed at any event, let alone to see such an acerbic stand-up comedian as Stanhope.

Whilst the show wasn’t sold out those that did turn up seemed thoroughly entertained throughout the 90 minute set. Stanhope berates his own show throughout the evening and constantly makes references alluding to the fact that he should have done his “funny material” or “the jokes that work”. If what we were treated to was Stanhope on an off-night this man should be selling out Wembley Stadium.

Stanhope patrols the stage like an early onset, hunchbacked, Parkinson’s disease suffer and at times I did fear for his mental health. Occasionally his mind seems to wander as he stops dead in mid-thought before stammering his way through to the next gag. At one point I genuinely thought that he’d had a complete mental breakdown but his repeated line turned out to be the set-up for one of the best lines in the set.

The seemingly disjointed delivery doesn’t detract from it at all, Stanhope gets his message across loud and clear and manages to impart his wisdom with a killer punchline. I cannot recommend this show enough, it’s thought provoking and funny, which reminds me, I must tell him about my idea for procreation licences. Stanhope’s run continues until the 3^rd of September and there are still tickets available for most of the shows, click this link for further details. http://leicestersquaretheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/126514521/events