Jeremy Hardy is socialism's Trojan horse. Somehow, middle England has been persuaded to open its gates to this mildest-mannered of revolutionaries. He's now the only Radio 4 broadcaster who uses his celebrity to invite us to "seize the state, demolish it and establish anarcho-syndicalism".
Hardy's week at the Cochrane offers a rare chance to see the 40-year-old comic doing what he does best. In two-and-a-quarter structureless but seamless hours of comedy, Hardy flits from midlife angst to the threatened war on Iraq. What's refreshing is his assumption that we're as au fait with, and as keen to hear about, the latter as the former.
While all around him comedians talk knob gags and Posh Spice, Hardy credits his audience with a social conscience and an informed intelligence. When did you last hear a stand-up mention Michael Ignatieff?
He pulls it off with only a hint of self-consciousness. "Am I boring you?" he asks, during a spiel about Keynesian economics. Far from it. Few of the mainstream's complacent assumptions are spared his barbs. If trade unionists are dinosaurs, what does that make the rapacious bosses, who've been around even longer? If capitalism is about choice, how come everywhere looks the same?
It works because of Hardy's sensible demeanour. He is ardent but never hot-headed. He boycotts Gap, he says, and "Boy, are they sore at me!" This is a personality who could win people over to progressive politics. Two hours with Hardy and George Bush might think: how could I quibble with the ideas of such a reasonable chap?
· Ends tonight. Box office: 020-7242 7040.
