America's Bill Maher is best known as a provocative TV host, on Politically Incorrect and Real Time. But he started as a stand-up. In fact his last UK appearance was in 1985, doing gags on Bob Monkhouse’s show.
The lean 59-year-old did not do the same routine three decades on, but some of his riffs did feel well-worn. Jabs at Sarah Palin and bemusement at the worship of Ronald Reagan were hardly cutting edge.
He had suggested he was planning UK-friendly material. There was not much, although a quizzical expression combined with the mention of Ed Miliband was funnier than he realised and he did wryly suggest that the House of Lords sounds like a gay bar.
Most of Maher’s set was an eloquent, occasionally smug critique of his homeland: “I love America. It’s Americans I can’t stand.” An astute take-down of Republican presidential hopefuls and a pungent attack on religion jostled with jokes about the Kardashians, guns and the cheese in pizza crusts.
There was no faulting his relaxed style, even if he did have notes onstage. But more awareness of UK issues would have helped.
Ukip gags were not needed, but more acknowledgement that there are shared issues between his country and ours would have helped him sound less like a very pithy touring lecturer.
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