As much a national treasure in his own alternative way as the Queen, Judi Dench and Basil Brush, Ken Campbell's musings on being and nothingness, time travel, Anne of Green Gables and the lost laughing Jesus cult tradition are a fine reminder that the world is a far weirder place than we know or could ever imagine. And, yes, that even includes all of you out there who have a subscription to the Fortean Times or Nature, or even both.
Devotees of Campbell's musings will recognise material from previous shows, but this is no more a problem than it would be if you kept making return visits to see your favourite stand-up. Besides, Campbell is infinitely more intelligent and funny than many on the comedy circuit. At his best, he makes you see the world through new eyes. As he says: "I'm not mad, I've just read different books."
Quite how different is demonstrated in an apparently rambling but beautifully structured monologue, in which the information that the deceased Sir Laurence Olivier revealed to Campbell in a spiritualist church in Stamford Hill that Jackie Chan is the greatest actor of his generation is effortlessly connected with 9/11, the Crusades, time travel and the importance of Anne of Green Gables in the Japanese psyche. At times, you feel that you are in the presence of someone unhinged; at others, that you are passing time with a man who may indeed have cracked the meaning of life.
It is hard to maintain such brilliance over two hours, and although Campbell gives the impression that he could go on all night, the second half is the weaker part of the evening. None the less, in a world where uniformity is praised, blandness preferred and entertainment comes in unoriginal little packages, Campbell remains a giant among pygmies, a man who does his own thing and makes himself and us laugh and think in the process.
· At Komedia, Brighton, on Saturday (box office 01273 647100), and at Drill Hall on December 28 and 29 (box office: 020-7307 5060)
