Some comedians explode, others graft their way to the top. If Russell Brand falls into the first category, Lee Mack slots into the second. The lean - though not as lean as he once was - Lancastrian has recently co-written and co-starred in the hit sitcom Not Going Out and tour tickets are like golddust. Not bad for an ex-stable boy who used to muck out Red Rum.
Mack is every inch the anti-Brand, from his conservative suit and bank clerk spiky hair to his source material. Where Brand's comedy trades on painful honesty, Mack is the unreconstructed clown who simply makes up funny stories. It is a shamelessly mainstream technique, but he excels at it.
In fact he is so old school that in the first 10 minutes last night he impersonated Eric Morecambe three times, doing the wonky glasses gag, the strangled-behind-the-curtains routine and the trademark dance. But just as this was starting to look like a tribute act, Mack found his own cheeky voice.
Umpteen quick-fire quips kept things bubbling: "I'm in a relationship at the moment. Sorry, girls ... it's going to have to be your place." He shuffled words like a card-sharp, did a decent Hugh Grant impression and worked the crowd like a master puppeteer. His best moment was not even scripted. A heckler shouting "Go" gifted Mack a five-minute riff on when he might say the same word elsewhere.
Anyone looking for something with an establishment-shaking cutting edge will not find it here. But you could easily imagine him dropping the blokeish swearing and hosting a primetime show. If Bruce Forsyth ever hangs up his tuxedo, Mack could be a racing certainty to slip into it.
Monday and Wednesday (020 7388 8822, www.leemacklive.com).
Lee Mack: Going Out
The Bloomsbury Theatre
Gordon Street, WC1H 0AH
