You'd never guess that Rob Newman was a veteran of the mightiest comedy gigs of the 1990s. The erstwhile floppyhaired catchphrase king has travelled a long way, thank goodness, from David Baddiel and Wembley Arena.
At these weekly gigs in Soho Theatre's studio, he looks as he has barely stepped on stage before. But the scatty manner belies a serious intent. Newman aims with this work-in-progress set to review half a millennium of capitalist expansion and western powerplay. See? You're laughing already.
Newman signals his purpose with an uncommercial title - From Caliban to the Taliban: 500 Years of Humanitarian Intervention. And one of the pleasures of his lecture-cum-gig is that it teems with interesting information. He starts by recounting the 1609 colonisation of Virginia, which Newman sees as a milestone in commercial imperialism (and in which Shakespeare had a financial stake). He quotes copiously from primary sources; the show wears its research on its sleeve. Later, Newman tells us that there has been only one year since 1798 that the US hasn't invaded another country - then catalogues the events of that year, 1892, seeking to explain the aberration.
It's fascinating stuff, and offers a timely corrective to the oh-so-ethical bellicosity of Bush and Blair. (Newman reminds us that the US won't let UN inspectors anywhere near its own chemical weapons.) Every joke chips away at the delusion that rampant capitalism and morality are in any way compatible. But Newman is just as funny when he sidesteps politics: his best line imagines Richard Burton's response when hearing, the 1970s, that he had been banned by the BBC.
If there's a problem, it is that Newman has too many facts to impart. They are weighing him down: he spends much of the gig pacing to and fro with an expression of concentration furrowed into his face. And struggling to remember everything. "So this is why people have rehearsals?" he says to his technician after one slip-up. The show's impact will heighten when Newman begins to make his points more pithily, and with more theatrical flair.
But it is heartening (and rare) to see a stand-up who uses humour to elucidate a progressive world-view. I only hope Newman is right when he guesses that, as Hollywood brainwashes millions every day, one shambling stand-up preaching the truth to 80 people per week may still make a little difference.
· In rep until February 3. Box office: 020-7478 0100.
