Seann Walsh: 28, London
Seann Walsh’s latest set takes inspiration from Adele, its title a reference to his still precocious (at least in comedy terms) age. But that’s about as much as the two have in common: whereas Adele is a clean-living industry game-player, Walsh is a ramshackle-looking party animal whose worst enemy seems to be himself. Unquestionably the best observational comic of his generation, his is a talent that does not fit easily into the digestible world of panel shows. But it’s surely only a matter of time before TV finds a format to suit his prodigious abilities. Live, he’s an absolute blast, regaling the audience with the seamy details of his dissolute lifestyle in a manner that’s part seen-it-all boozer, part innocent infant. This latest show finds him more settled than on previous appearances, talking about settling down and beginning to view the world with an attitude approaching that of an adult. But the bleary-eyed manchild is never far away, and is as irresistible as ever.
Blackheath Halls, SE3, Sat 20 Dec; touring to 24 Apr
Al Murray: The Pub Landlord’s Festive Saloon, Edinburgh
Al Murray’s Pub Landlord character – a beer-swilling distillation of unreconstructed Englishness – has had a chequered career. First, he was the comedy scene’s best-kept secret, a cult favourite in the mid-90s who was championed by Harry Hill. Then, following a Perrier award win and an underrated Sky sitcom, he became the unlikeliest of ITV faces, with his own late-night chatshow. This might have brought the Landlord fame, but it also arguably led to a flattening out of nuance, and an ambiguity about whether sections of the audience saw him less as a figure of fun, more as a spokesman for their prejudices. In recent years, Murray has focused more on live work, and when you see the Pub Landlord holding forth for an evening it’s impossible to be confused about the performer’s vision or unimpressed by his comic voice.
St Andrew Square, Mon 29 to New Year’s Eve
Russell Howard: Wonderbox, Manchester & Birmingham
It must have taken guts for Russell Howard to pack in Mock The Week in 2010. Still relatively young, he chose to pass up a seemingly open-ended residency on one of TV’s most-watched comedy shows for the uncertainty of standing on his own two feet. If it was a gamble, it’s one that’s paid off in some style. His Good News show has been a hit, while he’s now playing some of the biggest rooms in the country. Howard’s success is down to the way his comic outlook strikes a chord with so many younger people. He’s not afraid to be silly and gently whimsical but he never disappears up his own arse. And his attitude is always sunnily optimistic, taking delight in the daft little details of his life. Wonderbox is more of the joyous same, mixing a smattering of current affairs with a ragbag of cheeky anecdotes.
Phones 4u Arena, Manchester, Sat 20; LG Arena, Birmingham, Sun 21
