Get Out More.........................Gig Review

FRANK SKINNER (NIA Academy)

21-11-2007

Black Country comic legend hits the road again, just to prove he can still do it at the age of 50. The NIA is a far cry from the Hare and Hounds where he learned his craft, though, and Richard Nevin reckons big isn't always beautiful.

It is often said that success can be a double-edged sword, and at the start of Oldbury legend, Frank Skinners three night run back in Birmingham the old adage appeared to be true.

Although at reduced capacity, the NIA academy is still a huge expanse for one man, armed only with a microphone and razor sharp wit, to fill. If anyone could do it surely Skinner is the man? Yet there seemed to be something missing last night.

Anticipation was high but from the start it seemed that the show was waiting to ignite, the problem was that it never quite made it.

Interaction with the audience, a crucial part of his act was fairly low level, this of course can be blamed on those in the front row not being particularly interesting, but from my lofty perch at the back of the arena, it felt as though I was eavesdropping on a private conversation.

Intimacy is an integral part of the shared comedy experience, a sense of belonging, the deafening laughter all around. But within the NIA last night the laughs seemed to float up into the air and pop like washing up liquid bubbles blown by a child.

Previous shows have always included plenty of "in" jokes regarding the quirks of living in Brum, something that made the gigs that little bit special, made the experience almost unique, but there were a paucity of these throughout the show, despite the huge backdrop of city views.

Maybe this was down to the fact that the show was being filmed for the inevitable DVD, Frank deciding that the material had to be all encompassing rather than regional in flavour.

Not that there was any problem with the content, the usual mix of keen observation, face pulling and gross sexual comment, in fact with the latter, the comedian seemed to almost be in perpetual motion to replicate his intercourse technique.

Now resident in London, and having been so for some considerable time, Frank Skinner's outlook on life has inevitably changed and maybe it is naive of us to expect him to be the same man that you felt you new when his career began. This after all is his first stand up tour for 10 years.

Frank Skinner was uproariously funny last night, not least with his ukulele skit regarding the war on terror, but just because you can attract huge crowds doesn't mean that you should.

(To see Phil Calcutt's review of Frank Skinner's warm-up show at the Hare & Hounds in September, click here)

Anyone else see Frank Skinner at the NIA?

Can comedy work in such vast venues?

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