Tour review

Stuart Mitchell lost his fingertips in a childhood accident – hence the title of this show – although on the scale of horrible things that have happened to him and his family, this story almost counts as light relief.

In his first tour, the comic talks about suicide, cancer, post-traumatic stress, bereavement helplines, horrific pregnancy complications and more. ‘Jeez-o,’ says one audience member, all-too audibly and more than once, at the unfolding drama.

However Mitchell is quick to assure us that he’s made his peace with all that’s happened. This is not a man struggling to process grief through comedy, but someone who has come to terms with everything, and now coming across as well-balanced, engaging and affable.

Emotions are in check – something inherited from his stereotypically stoic and taciturn Scottish father  – and the drama is told matter-of-factly, as just a story of interest on which to hang his jokes. They may sometimes be dark, but they are always told cheerily. 

Since all his significant life events are here, it’s material he’s been doing in one form or another since his 2016 Edinburgh Fringe debut. But only now has he been able to take it on the road, thanks to winning a newfound audience online.

Indeed, some of the punters at the Leicester Square Theatre seem to have the para-social relationship with the comic that online familiarity breeds, mistaking the gig for a two-way conversation. But a few chatty audience members are a far cry from his worst gig, at the notorious HMP Barlinne outside Glasgow, just a few months into his stand-up career.

Some of the foot-in-mouth interactions with his captive audience that he relays here seem a little too neat to be real – as does the patient satisfaction survey his father filled in about his chemotherapy – but that’s in keeping with his attitude of putting gags ahead of heartstring-plucking. 

Not every experiences is quite so intense, as he also talks about getting a hair transplant and getting an acting break as a major character in an ITV drama. Though being cast as notorious Glasgow killer Bible John ensures even this material has a darker side.

The bulk of the show is all preceded by a first half of workmanlike crowd interactions, doing a lot of panning for just a few flecks of comedy gold - for online consumption, perhaps. It’s  decidedly unremarkable and entirely unnecessary, since Mitchell’s easy-going wit naturally endears him to the crowd.

• Stuart Mitchell: Tips Not Included runs until February. Stuart ​Mitchell tour dates

Review date: 11 Oct 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett