Glenn Moore begins his Perrier award-winning show by admitting that a lot of what he is about to say isn’t true. This may not please fans of more insightful comedy shows, but it leads to an hour of entertaining semi-autobiographical anecdotes that make heavy use of puns and comedic subversions to great effect.
A fine example of this is an initially serious observation on the benefits of Dignitas that lulls the audience into a false sense of self-reflection before concluding with a speedboat-related punchline that brings the house down.
Moore also branches out into other areas of his life, such as his being a newsreader, which was his initial ambition as a child. He uses this as a chance to venture into various comedic alleyways. The most effective ones are an inspired bit about the uselessness of weather forecasters, the insufferable nature of his former boss, and an interesting recounting of his encounter with Katie Hopkins.
This latter anecdote is the closest that Moore comes to being subversive, with his observations of her running counter to commonly-held views of Hopkins as a result of her incendiary far-right personality. It’s an interesting direction to take, given the apolitical tone of the rest of the show, and one that stands out as a result.
What is prevalent throughout though is Moore’s feelings about his own inability to express his true feelings, which do come across in his recurring gags involving the aforementioned boss as well as material about his relationship with his parents and failed relationships of the romantic kind.
The former in particular provides a welcome bit of audience interaction when somebody makes a sympathetic noise in the middle of one of Moore’s anecdotes concerning his mother. This is loud enough to stop the normally motor-mouthed Moore in his tracks whilst he tries to think of a way to respond to this unexpected interruption.
However, a quickly-organised repeating of the noise in unison keeps him in control whilst not losing any of the audience’s attention. It’s a sign that Moore, despite his various insecurities and frustrations, is a natural comedian who can keep an audience engaged no matter what.