Al Murray didn't really work on television. But anyone with painful memories of Sky's woeful sitcom, Time Gentlemen, Please, should see him live.

At the Theatre Royal the Pub Landlord was back in his rightful context in one of the finest live comedy shows to grace the stage in recent years.

Murray has been performing his monstrous publican - fuelled by fierce demagoguery and a hatred of all things French - for more than a decade and the act hasn't really changed.

In the Pub Landlord's lounge bar of life, foreigners and homosexuals are barred, and don't get him started on the euro.

From the moment he steps on to the stage under the shadow of a giant heraldic crest bearing the motto "Pint for the Fella, Glass of White Wine for the Lady", Murray's skill in blending improvisation with prepared anecdote is stunning.

Without doubt he'll be dispensing from the beer tap of pub philosophy for many years to come.