Roseanne Barr rose to celebrity from trailer-trash roots, won a fistful of Emmys for her blue-collar sitcom Roseanne (1988-97), went through three husbands, a bunch of cosmetic surgery, then crashed and burned after the show was cancelled. She has lately returned to stand-up in the States and this appearance at the De Montfort Hall was by way of testing British waters before a London run later this year. Reading from a prompter, Barr was more delivering a lecture than a routine, although an unscripted Q&A produced some deliciously spiteful barbs at the audience's expense.
When she hit the right note, both Barr and her script were zinging. Jibes at Bush - 'How quaint does impeaching a President for lying seem now?' - stood comfortably alongside more confessional jokes about fame, family and therapy. 'Now that I'm sane, I realise it was my mental problems that made me interesting.' The hour-long show had its weaknesses, but a surprising warmth - and, dare I say it, humility - shone through.
· Leicester Comedy Festival ends tonight
