A seven year hiatus had not dulled Frank Skinner’s prowess
as a top class stand-up, certainly not on the evidence of the show I witnessed at Watford's Colosseum.
The Midlands comic’s ambling stage walk, easy-going rapport with audience members and lightning fast
wit, showed that while a new generation of comedians have taken to the stage,
there is much they can learn from the older guard.
At 57, Skinner’s act has matured, like the man himself and
there were fairly clean-cut jokes about relationships, money and religion.
But the show opened with near-the-knuckle fodder about the
conviction of Rolf Harris and others.
“It must be a novelty to see a grey-haired celebrity still
at large”, the Brummie told his audience, at the Hertfordshire venue.
But smutty anecdotes have always been one of Skinner’s most
hilarious staples.
As he said before the tour, which is entitled Man in a Suit:
“I still do a bit of filth on stage.
“If I didn’t that would be like Bernie Clifton not
performing with his ostrich.”
In an era where comics tend to be backslapping right-on, point-makers,
rather than just funny, this blast from the past was like a breath of fresh
air.
And the brutal honesty of the recollections, which have long
been the most potent weapon in Frank Skinner’s armoury, were abundantly evident
again here.
It would not be hyperbole to describe ‘Man in a Suit’ as a
masterclass in the art of stand-up.
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