Hal Cruttenden has been on the stand-up comedy circuit for some years now but put in one of his finest performances yet in front of a full house at The Lowry in Salford.
Billed as a ‘Best Of’ it certainly lived up to its promise. There was no let up in proceedings, no damp squibs or uncomfortable pauses.
The audience showed him a huge amount of warmth from the off; perhaps it was because the show was being filmed for his DVD (no doubt it will be on the shelves ready for Christmas), but whatever the reason, Cruttenden’s set had me laughing so much, at times I was gasping for air.
It was a fresh and fiendishly funny attempt from the self-style ‘tough luvvie’, who was relaxed enough to take his time setting up jokes ready for a rapid-fire punchline delivered with a twinkle in his eye.
On occasion he stuttered and stumbled over a few lines, but this only made his performance more solid and believable.
Most important of all, it looked as if he was really enjoying himself, which made the audience love him even more.
Despite the focus of his act being on his inability to be a tough guy, his sharp tongue was used to good advantage when engaging in audience banter; his ability to play on his well-spoken posh boy image took the sting out of his vicious taunts and the victims of his playfulness took it in good humour (especially his comments about Salford).
From his mousephobia to the lifespan of flies, via rugby match anthems and Protestant Orange marches in his living room, Hal jumped from one topic to another with ease and took us on a fantastic journey, where every step was a delight.
