Tom Allen, Oakengates Theatre - review

That is unless you are prepared to face a barrage of questions as the smartly be-suited comic stings you with his waspish wit.

So it was that we learned about various members of the full house audience from Telford and Wolverhampton - including the lady on her third marriage, the Mercedes-driving recruitment expert and the guy who makes luxury horseboxes in the Black Country ('Do they play much polo in Wolverhampton?' asked Allen. 'Is the 50-inch TV so the horses can watch Clare Balding?').

The quick-thinking comedian picks up on his audience's cautious comments and can spin an improvised routine around it, later returning to his willing victims at opportune moments.

Being gay provides some material but the core of his fast-moving stand-up routine in his Absolutely show, in which two 50-minute sets fly by, is about the contradiction of a son of working class parents in Bromley, who went to the local comprehensive, talking with a posh accent and adopting a haughty disposition.

The dichotomy is summed up when buying his dad a birthday present. Tom bought his dad an afternoon tea in a fancy hotel, his tiler brother hired his dad a skip. His dad was thrilled with the skip.

Nostalgia

He says he always knew he was different and, as the audience anticipates the 'coming out' story, he instead hits us with an hilariously smug, 'not different, better'.

The other strand of Allen's humour is nostalgia, and he got big laughs for his recollections of a school coach trip to France, the trials of children's birthday parties ('What are Party Rings, stale biscuits coated in a ceramic?'), and the horror of being stuck in a swimming pool flume tunnel.

And as anyone who has seen him on Mock The Week knows, he can rant brilliantly, as he did here about his hen party experience and his wild interpretation of a primary school teacher having a breakdown.

But perhaps my favourite anecdote/joke was when he said that on using a gay dating app, instead of looking at the inevitable toned torso in the photo, his judgement is based on looking at the bathroom beyond.

If he sees poor grouting around the tiles or a can of Lynx Africa deodorant, forget it.