Al Murray, Friday 15 November, Theatre Royal Brighton

AL MURRAY returned to the stage with his latest tour featuring his much-loved pub landlord character in his Landlord of Hope and Glory show.

The self-appointed bastion of common sense explained he was on a mission to bring the nation back together again.

Murray’s alter ego blazed through topics from politics to morality, speeds cameras to people’s obsessions with their phones, flirting to Brexit with hilarious observations and satire.

The Guv’nor relied heavily on audience interaction which lead to Murray striking comedy gold time and time again with razor sharp banter and quick-fire jokes throughout the two-hour show.

Some jokes came close to the mark but never offended, making sure that Murray’s disgust was the punchline rather than the faux misogyny or xenophobia.

The Pub Landlord had a special talent for making ridiculous ideas seem almost plausible including a very funny bit on why men scratching their testicles is an important part of evolution.

Anyone who’s seen the Pub Landlord perform before are most probably used to him raging against a system that never goes his way but with Brexit, you might assume some of the edge of the character could be lost but this wasn’t the case.

He managed to acknowledge concerns of Remainers whilst stroking the ego of Leavers, mocking both sides and describing Brexit as a form of defiance that is intrinsically British.

You’d probably assume he’d be a natural Brexit voter but there would be no fun in a night of ‘I told you so’ style material, especially in a city like Brighton.

Therefore, not surprising, he didn’t particularly attempt to offer solutions to fix the complex issues surrounding Brexit, that wouldn’t suit a set from this colourful character anyway, but he had the audience in stitches throughout with a polished performance and solid songs.

And what more could you want on a rainy Friday night?

Gemma Logan