When Ricky Gervais started touring his third stand-up show, Fame, earlier this year, his reputation as the country's hottest comic was unblemished. He starts its epic London run amid stirrings of a backlash, accused of overexposure, a Hollywood-sized ego and duff appearances at Live Earth and the Concert for Diana. All grist to the mill, surely, for a show that examines the contradictions of stardom. But Gervais's self-examination isn't that near the knuckle. Instead, the show couples some insightful observations about 21st-century celebrity with his trademark "offensive" jokes.
It is perfectly enjoyable, not least because Gervais has made gains as a stand-up since his earlier shows, Animals and Politics. His timing is superb and he is supremely in control on the huge Hammersmith stage, though investing his comedy with more intemperate passion might work in his favour. The ego issue is instantly foregrounded, as Gervais enters to a fanfare, his name in 10ft-high lights. As in The Office and Extras, he pitches camp in the no-man's-land of our uncertainty about celebrity. Do we want them to be just like us? Do we want them to enjoy it? Should we adore them or envy them?
Exploring this territory could fill a show - but Gervais doesn't venture beyond the shallows of this study of stardom. Instead, he flits in and out of material that's never as risqué as he tells us it is ("one false move and I'm Jim Davidson"), alongside scatological and entertainment-related chat. I prefer him at his most provocative, as with his routine on obesity ("Jesus, my face is falling off" / "I can't stop now. There's a fat bird on her third pie") or his militant atheist shtick. Perhaps a show about celebs should generate more Heat. But at its best, Fame proves there is a fast-improving stand-up behind Gervais's media ubiquity and curdling reputation.
· Until September 29. Box office: 0870 606 3400.
