Paul Merton is probably best known for his well-weathered spot on Have I Got News For You.

His spouts of random but hilarious lines are interlinked with long periods of dreamy silence – raising the question of how this would translate on stage.

But perhaps his most complementing platform is Just A Minute, when he performs improvisation, telling funny stories without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

A clear master of his art, he takes this intelligent comedy on to the stage with his impro chums – Mike McShane, Lee Simpson, Richard Vranch, Steve Steen and Suki Webster.

Using audience participation – but the kind no Englishman is adverse to – they sought not to embarrass but use the crowd’s ideas to shape the show.

From interviewing about javelin-throwing frogs to Paul Merton trying to work out the job the audience have selected for him (sandpapering an elephant down to a mouse, with grade 5 paper wearing a gas mask in the Antarctic, if anyone’s interested), the Whose Line Is It Anyway-style show is a refreshing and talented performance.

The laugh-a-minute consequence with Merton as the leading light, performed in sketches, jokes and even opera if you’re lucky, is not to be missed.