Nigel Planer's comic character Nicolas Craig, a luvvie who loves the theatre and himself in equal measure, has already been widely seen on TV. But he belongs firmly in the theatre. That is despite the fact that Richmond, and other venues on his tour, in which he so generously shares his experience with us lesser mortals, are clearly not quite up to his usual haunt - the National or "Nash", as he affectionately calls it.
I, An Actor is a jolly, entertaining, if rather predictable theatrical in-joke, probably best enjoyed by those who already have at least a passing acquaintance with Peter Brook's work ("a salad of primordial infinity - goat's cheese optional") and the plays of David Hare. Or those who are sufficiently up to speed on theatrical gossip to know why the idea of Trevor Nunn turning up on the first day of rehearsal of a major classic at the National, slipping a cheque for half a million quid to the designer and disappearing off to Kentucky to direct a musical, is funny.
Despite Craig's references to his triumph in Fist Fucking at the Royal Court, the evening has an air of genteel geniality about it. Even so Planer isn't backward about slaughtering a few theatrical sacred cows: I particularly enjoyed his account of his 13-week stint in Art with Nasty Nick from Big Brother and a cardboard cut-out of Bob the Builder, casting that one imagines must have brought out the full subtlety of that absurdly overrated drama. I also look forward to the prospect of Jonathan Miller directing Puppetry of the Penis - "though an unusual choice for Glyndebourne".
But even when you are as skilled and funny as Planer, it is hard to sustain single-joke humour over an entire show. Though he rings the changes with a witty short video, TV clips and some audience participation, you can't help feeling that in the second half the padding-to-content ratio has got out of hand.
· At the Corn Exchange, Newbury (01635 522733), tonight, then touring to Jersey, Swindon, Lincoln, Darlington and Nottingham.
