Impish Irishman Andrew Maxwell certainly likes to blow his cash in style. Having sold every ticket for Saturday's midnight gig in a cavernous, spooky, disused theatre next to Ally Pally, he still lost money, as well as one of the acts, with a frustratingly enjoyable shambles of a soirée.

New BBC star Peter Serafinowicz withdrew from the bill due to family illness, leaving a stout-hearted cast to battle with ropey acoustics and freezing conditions. At one point I joined the smokers outside because I thought it might be warmer al fresco.

Terry Alderton's blood-curdling sound effects started well, but momentum was thwarted when his backing music missed its cue. Simon Munnery delivered gnomic one-liners with a bucket on his head, Phil Nichol claimed to be a ghost and larked about when it would have been preferable to hear some actual jokes.

It was left to Maxwell and Glenn Wool to save the day. A mass seance helped the howling host summon up some long-dead gags and Canadian-with-attitude Wool summoned up the spirit of Bill Hicks with his confessions of a druggy past. A hot finish to a chilly night when everyone needed some Wool.