Opening nights of any lengthy outing must be daunting occasions, but when Al Murray first takes to the stage it’s a concept difficult to believe that the star of the show finds anything remotely troublesome, let alone tough.
As though never away, the pub owner everybody wants at their local opens up on his locals as though they’re old friends and mercilessly ridicules them from a stage bedecked with possibly the most phallic set of beer pumps in existence, a counter from which endless supplies of beer are pumped at regular intervals and barrels that positively glitter with the hidden treasure held within.
Murray is now such an institution, its almost rude not to laugh. Yet as the night wears on, it’s less and less obvious what we’re actually laughing at. Yes there are moments of sheer comic gold, but these are increasingly times when the comic is being fed from the audience rather than of inspired observational genius from which the likes of Peter Kaye have made a trademark. In short, by the interval it all seems just a little bit tired to avid viewers of Murray’s hit comedy show and the catchphrases are wearing just a little thin so that, as with the French and Saunders recent tour, it might have been easier to buy the DVD.
It’s a good night out in the end but, a bit like an REM album, you can’t help thinking you should have enjoyed it more. Still, this is the first night. Maybe a few more beers, some fresh sounds on the juke box and some new victims at the bar will help as the show rolls its way around the country.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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