Mark Watson's zany banter was straight out of left field, even if he did burst on to the scene from the right. The wiry Welshman-but-not-really (he speaks with a distinct lilt, but actually is Bristolian) startled the audience at the beginning of the gig by appearing in the aisle to the right of the stalls, shouting at us to have only modest expectations.
Claiming to have overheard someone muttering "I saw him on BBC2's comedy panel show Mock the Week, but he didn't say much", after a protracted, but uproarious, introduction, he clambered across the theatre to the flats, before acting as his own compere. There had been no warm-up act. All rather odd - but then, Watson is an oddity, combining the quizzical other-worldliness of fellow comics Dylan Moran or Ross Noble with a twitchy, frenetic delivery. Although much of the 'spontaneous' material clearly had been crafted in advance, he was successful in keeping us on tenterhooks, establishing an instant camaraderie as he offloaded his psychological burdens.
The monologue darted from subject to subject with the sort of elastic patter that might make him a winner on Radio Four's Just a Minute, and while the narrative threads didn't always splice together, the audience guffawed at the way his anecdotes - on topics such as family, security scares and urban landscapes - were couched in an absurdly loquacious style, combined with charming physical comedy; he wrestled with his (collapsing) microphone stand and sprinted around the stage in pursuit of an insect that was pestering him.
If there was a theme, it was how Watson is fascinated by the consequences of actions, be it hurling one's keys from a bridge or kicking a stranger pulling a suitcase. The random happenings and haphazard narrative reflected Watson's difficulty in wrapping things up - he asked our permission to start the 20-minute interval, for instance, before continuing to chat for several minutes - and despite promising the second half would surpass the first, this wasn't quite the case, even if it was extremely witty.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article