Review by Steve Bennett

The hugely experienced Phil Butler is cruise ship/holiday camp style entertainer who somehow finds work on the so-called ‘alternative’ circuit, even though his act’s about as alternative as Paul Daniels.

He’s basically an audience rabble-rouser, shamelessly using every gimmick in the book, whether it’s cheap conjuring tricks, ventriloquism, pounding backing music or repeatedly asking the crowd to give him a cheer as none-too-subtle ways of injecting vitality into his act.

He’s not without talent on this children’s entertainer level (though he’s too rude for that to be a genuine career option), with versatility, a cheeky charm and – his biggest asset – a hugely expressive face.

But the content is all so vacuous, with the trickery punctuated with obvious punchlines, no-brainer audience abuse and lazy comedy routines that often come a bit too close to what other acts do – and usually so much better than him.

Worst of all is the ‘climax’ of his act, in which he gets a child’s speak-and-spell toy to say rude words. What feat of comedy genius will he try next – looking up naughty words in the dictionary?

Review date: 1 Dec 2005
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett