Doug Stanhope is at the cutting edge of bleak humour

The hard-drinking American comedian berated Sheen last night for trumping his act, living a more excessive life and earning more money. No wonder he was mad. "I love nobody," Stanhope whined. His ruthlessly logical humour usually comes with a garnish of bleakness and this gig was even bleaker than usual, shuttling between compelling comedy and a train wreck. Hit and miss wit-wise, but never dull.

In fairness this abrasive outing was a warm-up for his major Hammersmith show on Saturday and he was partly testing new material, but there were numerous awkward silences where Stanhope simply did nothing but drink his Jägermeister and look glazed, resembling a dyspeptic Kevin Costner.

When he did unleash material, however, it was often brilliantly, brutally sharp, challenging taboos and examining terrorism, capitalism and politics as well as reality TV and asking why Friends is always on British television whenever he visits.

It has been suggested that this libertarian is the natural heir to legendary satirist Bill Hicks. Stanhope definitely has similar outlaw appeal and actually pushes further. Where Hicks famously said that a comedian sells out once they do an advert, Stanhope asserted that they have sold out once they are paid for anything.

This led to a closing dissection of the economic downturn and its effect on the prostitution industry which was as funny as it was filthy. Not for the fainthearted and he was not even firing on all cylinders. If he starts swigging Tiger Blood in Hammersmith, stand back. 

Until Friday, then April 2 at Hammersmith Apollo, W6. Information: 0844 873 3433, leicestersquaretheatre.com

Doug Stanhope
Leicester Square Theatre
Leicester Place, WC2H 7BX