Al Murray is a consummate performer. And worth going to see just because he has a certain style of comedy which differs from the run of the mill stand-up. The pub landlord is of course just a persona. The belligerent right-wing mouthy common man of the people is played by a middle-class Oxbridge graduate (which frankly accounts for more than half the decent comics you will ever see. It's an intellectual middle-class profession, much like being a lawyer or an accountant.)
What makes his style different is not that what he does is completely novel, it just accentuates a skill which tends to be only a minor part of other comedians' acts. So while chatting to one or two members of the front row to warm up is not unusual, the whole first half of Al's act was taken up by the simple formula of asking people's names and what they did for a living, and taking it from there. So obviously he spends a lot of time insulting their occupations, dress sense, family relationships, etc. But he does it all with such skill that you don't really notice that was all he had done for three-quarters of an hour. So, less material used than your average comic, but also vastly more thinking on his feet.
The second half was the more scripted part, with a brilliant exposition of financial markets "in half a pint" (a much underrated time unit in my opinion). And then he finished of by going back to the audience again to ask him for his policies if he ran for Parliament. More thinking on his feet, although some of the topics were clearly pre-prepared. But very good indeed. Second half of the show very much stronger than the first. Might have done without the musical number done as the encore, a spoof based on Rolf Harris "Send the Pedophile down, sport" to the tune of "Tie my kangaroo down". Comedians should generally avoid song endings in my view (Adam Hills guilty of the same.)
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