Some comedians use live performance to stretch their wings away from the homogenising demands of TV and radio. Not so Punt and Dennis, whose touring show, Grown Men in Public, seldom takes flight. As on Radio 4's The Now Show, this is comedy as if delivered by two middle managers at a sales conference. Steve Punt even clings to a clipboard throughout. It might pass muster on radio, but it translates into bland blimpishness on stage: comedy with a Hugh Grant-style compulsion to apologise for itself - with good cause.
Both the material and the delivery leave much to be desired. An ill-at-ease straight man, Punt waffles interminably before dispatching laboured set-ups to his partner. Hugh Dennis is efficient with the punchlines, less so when trying to counteract the prattle with physical comedy; his so-called "mime" is tediously wacky. It is also the only concession the pair make to theatre.
This is featherweight comedy that trades in mild Daily Mail-ish bewilderment at the modern world. And I mean mild: Punt's worst beef with modernity is that an ink cartridge costs £25. When Dennis mentions internet porn, Punt apologises for the supposed embarrassment. This show is more middle- of-the-road than the traffic police.
Sometimes, a smile is raised: I liked the contrast between Egyptian hieroglyphics and photo-messaging. A handful of Two Ronnies- esque wordplays, on online shopping and dietary fads, are of erratic quality. You wait in vain for the temperature to rise, or for Punt and Dennis to communicate any strong feelings about anything. So much for The Now Show: this chirpy, complacent mode of comedy is about as novel as the tank top and the tea cosy.
· At Headington Theatre, Oxford, tonight. Box office: 01865 759138. Then touring.
