Russell bounces off the bottom
By
Bruce Dessau
9 Oct 2007
Who needs awards? if.comedy winner Brendon Burns might have just played a prestigious gig at the Garrick, but surprise omission from the shortlist Russell Howard is packing them in everywhere. Apart from Hayes. Judging by last night's storming show in front of a small, appreciative audience, it is hard to see what else Howard can do to please the panel.
The youthful linchpin of BBC2's Mock The Week hit the ground running, thawing a reserved crowd with some sparky repartee. This slight-framed storyteller might still be only 27, but he is a stand-up natural, shooting the breeze, pulling faces, doing daft accents, digressing wildly à la Ross Noble, but always remembering the importance of punchlines.
Adventures is essentially a catch-all title for a monologue that allows Howard to celebrate magical moments in his life, which fortunately for us tend to be funny incidents such as visiting the Neighbours set or being woken by Morris dancers in Bath - the latter a sure sign of being middle class.
It is hard to see what Edinburgh's judges objected to. There might not be much depth but he is so effervescently witty it scarcely matters. There is a tendency-towards juvenile bottom-based banter, but Howard redeems these puerile passages with some neat asides. On having a rectal examination he recalls thinking: "I feel like a novelty glove."
Above all there is a gleeful innocence here that puts him ahead of the pack. While others try to be fashionably edgy, his childish charm dovetails perfectly with his references to playful kids, chocolate bars and zoos. So will he be an if. comedy contender next year? Definitely not. Because he will be too famous to be eligible.
• Bloomsbury Theatre 22, 23 October and 12 December. Information: 020 7388 8822, www.russell-howard.co.uk
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Reader views (4)
Yeah he is really unfunny. He rips off other peoples jokes and then takes them too far in a rubbish direction. I can't believe anyone likes hime at all.
- Red, UK, 24/12/2009 18:50
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Went to see him last night..... very poor. Never again will I watch his recirculated jokes that wernt really funny, and he likes to make fun of dissabled people, again not FUNNY
- Chris Fletcher, Sheffield, 17/06/2009 07:23
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I saw him at Live at the apollo, and am one of the few people who watched Mock The Week from when it began. I didn't hear one joke in his 15 minute set that I hadn't heard him 'wittily' come up with 'on the spot' on Mock the Week. He's surreal to the point of being annoying, a Ross Noble rip-off and his bouncy-happy novelty style won't last forever.
- Sam Selwood, Wimbledon, London, 23/10/2007 13:49
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Oh I recognise him, he's the really unfunny one on Mock the Week.
Frankie Boyle. Now there's a true funny man!
- Al Stuart, ealing London, 09/10/2007 16:48
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