UK Theatre Network

Like any real rock star Tim Vine hired a support act for his show, in this case John Archer who appeared as a magician cum comedian. Archer asked the audience: “Would you like to read peoples’ minds?” and invited them to participate in his tricks. It was a rather long half hour and Archer screaming into the microphone did not really help his act.

After the interval the king of the one-liner, punmeister and star of BBC1 Live at the Apollo and Not Going Out appeared. He was wearing one of several funny hats and delivering jokes at break neck speed. Not all of them worked but it did not matter because there were so many of them: “What do you think of the Chinese Dynasty? – It’s badly dubbed.” His cascade of puns was interrupted by a number of songs, such as “Is it a banana or is it a torch?”, “Little Piece of Carpet” or “Don’t Drop the Laptop.” Finally, Tim Vine presented two special guests – his father and the infamous Flag Hippo. 

Tim Vine is one of the few comics holding up the music-hall tradition of being incredibly and recklessly daft. Wearing a hat made out of balls of wool and a crimson uniform he makes every member of the audience sigh with relief that we will never look as stupid as that. Much of his material is second rate but this seems intentional. The audience ends up laughing at the idea that we are supposed to laugh at such lame jokes. However, some are genuinely funny gags and Tim is a seriously nice chap. I particularly liked the aerial sketch and Vine’s Bee Gees impersonation.

Tim Vine’s tour has now ended.