Michael McIntyre's Christmas Show, Hammersmith Apollo - review

Comedy’s new king and veteran grouch stir the chuckle muscles 
22 November 2013

The New Year Honours have not been announced yet, but Jack Whitehall already has a prestigious gong — he was voted King of Comedy at the British Comedy Awards.

His membership of stand-up’s royal family was confirmed last night with a rapturous reception at Michael McIntyre’s starry fundraiser for the Kids Company children’s charity.

Whitehall, 24, is due to stir up controversy next year when he plays Princess Diana in the Sky Arts satire Psychobitches, but on stage he was in playfully waggish mode, explaining with a smile that his upbringing was not posh and he hated school dinners: “They once served red wine with fish!”

Cheery compere McIntyre also had food on his mind, wondering why, if people like turkey so much, there are no Kentucky Fried Turkey shops. Lone female comedian Sarah Millican seemed subdued and Harry Hill was too surreal for the mainstream crowd, who preferred Pixie Lott’s moderately scorching cover of The Power of Love. After the break, however, the comedy temperature rose.

Veteran grouch Jack Dee, now with added guitar, revealed he has attached a shredder to the inside of his letter box to save time opening Christmas cards. Omid Djalili appeared with a black eye, which he claimed he sustained in a fight at QPR v Fulham: “In my defence she was huge,” he chuckled.

It was an entertaining event, if one where the Rubicon separating old-school and politically correct comedy was repeatedly crossed. This was summed up when Sport Relief hero John Bishop arrived with a dog in a bag so that he could make a dubious quip about Koreans eating pooches. No mother-in-law gags, maybe, but equally creaky.

Less contentiously, Jamie Cullum closed with a jazzy medley. Hits of the night? The pair of Jacks.

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