Review of An Audience with Arthur Smith

A GRUMPY OLD MAN MEETS HIS SHY AUDIENCE

ARTHUR SMITH
LITTLE THEATRE, LEICESTER
REVIEW BY BRENDA BAIN.


Arthur Smith came on to the Little Theatre stage to his own theme tune.

Lady Smith Black Mambosa allegedly wrote a song about him. It's quite catchy, if not a little repetitive, but the highlight is Arthur's dancing. For a grumpy old man, he sure can move.

Talking about grumpy old men, the audience was full of them.

Grumpy old men laughing though - Arthur can captivate an audience, and from the off he had us laughing at his anecdotes, his moving poems and some very, very old jokes.

He describes himself as a writer, poet, some-time journo, but most of all as a comedian. This is what he excels at.

A blackboard with famous people's names on it was a prompt for audience members to ask for anecdotes.

The Elvis Costello story died on its bum, but he did get a huge belly laugh from Nigella Lawson.

He also told us about his run-in with Engelbert Humperdinck on a radio show.

This was An Audience With, so audience participation was fully encouraged. It's just a shame this Leicester audience was so shy.

However, I'm a fan and I will be purchasing £9 walking socks to throw at him next time he's on a stage near me. And I'll think of a lot more questions to ask him.