“Why do I still do this?” asked Father Ted and My Hero star Ardal O’Hanlon, seemingly baffled why, when pushing the age of 50, he still feels the need to waffle, wonder out loud and confess his “Irish Catholic” sins to a theatre full of people.

It clearly isn’t because he’s got some grand statement to make – this set was a gentle amble through his past and his surreal take on the present – or a desire for fame (“I was doing this long before I played a priest”), but seemingly because it’s the only outlet he’s got for his deft and daft musings.

His whimsical reminiscence about growing up in small town Ireland was sublime, revealing the locals thought anyone who left was “either homosexual or vegetarian”, while his sideways reflections on leadership made a salient political point in a suitably silly manner concluding that Obama portrayed hope, Putin strength and Cameron and Clegg… shampoo and conditioner.

“I haven’t really got a big finish,” O’Hanlon admitted after an hour of convivial rambling, before adding, “This isn’t fecking Cats.”

He was right, this show was more akin to Father Ted’s musical masterpiece My Lovely Horse. And that’s altogether more impressive.