Comic Aid
Hammersmith Apollo, London W6
There's been plenty of debate over the notion of celebrity fundraising since the tsunami, but whatever the ideological rights and wrongs, surely it's better that 3,500 people bought tickets to Tuesday's Comic Aid than if they hadn't?
Even so, a number of the acts in this stellar line-up felt the need to accuse their audience of middle-class smugness for imagining that spending £50 on a theatre ticket constitutes an adequate response to the tragedy. Of course it doesn't (Jo Brand and Johnny Vegas), but then seven minutes of jokes is not quite the same as going out there with a first-aid kit either, is it?
It's been a long time since many of these headliners were confined to seven minutes, and it proved much easier for those who work from scripted material to adapt - Jimmy Carr, John Culshaw and Omid Djalili were among the strongest acts of the first half, while Eddie Izzard didn't soar to his usual heights, and the brilliant Derren Brown only had time for one trick.
In between, the acts were almost eclipsed by the glamorous comperes - Graham Norton, Jonathan Ross (who came out in a dressing gown saying: 'Well, it's only for charity'), Dawn French in her Catherine Zeta-Jones mode and a one-night-only, post-retirement Lily Savage. The bottom-numbing four hours culminated in the appearance of Lee Evans, who biked over hot from his West End role in The Producers.
Yes, it is a pity that the highest achievers in British comedy don't get together on this scale more often for charity, but the money raised can't be argued with, and if you missed it, rush out and get the DVD.
