The last time Roseanne Barr appeared in the UK, in 2006, she delivered a pancake-flat set at the Leicester Comedy Festival. Rumour had it that she thought the booking was in Leicester Square, not 102 miles further north. Last night she was definitely in the right place, geographically and comedically. After the fiasco of fellow American Sarah Silverman’s Sunday gig, Barr showed herself to be an experienced old hand at stand-up.

In fact, age was the overriding theme of her defiant set. With her constant references to being a baby boomer, audience members over 40 got the most out of the rebellious black-clad 56-year-old’s sarcastic moans about troublesome teens, menopausal woes and below-the-waist cosmetic surgery.

Her despair at the state of the planet, however, appealed to everyone. After a few inevitable swipes at Bush and Palin, the sitcom icon aired her contempt for politics in general. “The only time they tell the truth is when they are calling each other liars.”

She is an Obama fan, though would probably have preferred Hillary Clinton.

If Barr aimed at well-worn targets, at least she hit mostly bulls-eyes, skewering the modern obsession with pills for all occasions and revealing how after three failed marriages she has recently tried internet dating, calling herself, somewhat understatedly, “shy but assertive”.

As for body fascism, she is not the first person to note that half the world is starving while the other half is dieting, yet it was still a persuasively spat‑out line.

This was no‑frills stand‑up with wicked smirks and a pithy wind-down in which she answered audience questions with such smart whipcrack comebacks one wondered whether she had a team of writers lurking under her blouse. A closing musical medley was a tad indulgent and a few American references drew blank expressions but this was hugely efficient, intermittently thrilling stuff.

Tonight (0844 847 2475,
www.leicestersquaretheatre.com).