I was given my first taste of what to expect from Boothby Graffoe five minutes before the performance started.

A kind woman in the Ladies shouted at me through the cubicle door: "Don't be late or he'll pick on you."

I did not fully appreciate this advice until 15 minutes afterwards when I was sitting in the theatre.

As the late-comers walked in, they were heckled by Boothby, all be it in the nicest possible way.

Once he discovered their names and where they lived, they became a part of the act for the rest of the night.

But that was nothing compared to the treatment of audience members who dared sneak out mid-performance.

After the first female member left, Graffoe stopped his routine mid-joke to ask her friends about her.

While the poor woman, Louise, was out of the theatre, he picked up his guitar and made up a song.

His ability to improvise is amazing.

Poor Louise, within five seconds, the rest of the audience heard Boothby make up a tune which included the lyrics: "Louise, by now she'll probably be staring at her knees."

When she tried to sneak back to her seat, oblivious to the past five minutes' entertainment, she looked up in disbelief as Graffoe called out her name and asked her how she was.

Sharp and unpredictable, Boothby connected with the audience from the moment he walked on stage.

He warned them if they had seen any of his performances before they would probably recognise some of the jokes. He added if they had good memories, they would probably recognise them all.

The jokes were funny and topical. It would be difficult to pick out the best ones because they were all so good.

He touched on many issues, effortlessly switching from one to another. This was interspersed with him sitting with his guitar and singing tunes such as Planet Dog and Bungee Girl.

There is no doubt Boothby is a comic genius. He can create full belly laughs in an audience and leave them wanting more.