Review by Steve Bennett

Peter Kay creates a delightful picture of ordinary British life with his elegant, but straightforward, observational routines.

The rich humour provides laughs of instant recognition, as previously missed absurdities are highlighted for what they were.

It comes as a revelation that we all appear to share the same childhood - we all have the same mothers with the same stupid sayings, the same fathers with the same approach to bonfire nights.

Such things cannot be universally true, of course, especially in a country as diverse and multicultural as Britain, but he is devastatingly effective at creating a comedic world of his own and inviting eager audiences to take a peak.

He mocks the malapropisms of his elderly relatives who ask 'Have you got Harry Potter on VD?' and are baffled by answering machines and cashpoints, then turns his keen eye to our own behavioural quirks - such as conversations with taxi drivers.

Like Victoria Wood before him, Kay enhances his viewpoint with strategically placed product names, evoking an atmosphere with mere mention of Rola Cola, Netto or Soda Stream.

His Bolton accent also helps build the mood of his world - the effectiveness of simple verbal patterns like 'I were going to t'cash and carry' should not be underestimated.

This isn't the most exciting of shows - its structure is loose and its content safe - but it is expertly handled by an easy-going comic who seems to love just being on stage. And it is very funny.

His encore was a bit of an anticlimax, unoriginally comprising a medley of misheard lyrics (or mondegreens) of the type often used by local radio DJs or found strewn across the web.

But it did nothing to lessen the achievements of this distinctly class act. Working class that is.

Review date: 1 Jan 2002
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett