David Baddiel is trying to break back into stand-up's top league.
Having been a comedian-as-rockstar pioneer in the Nineties, he is tentatively returning to gigs, headlining a modest 1,000-seater club this weekend. Baddiel was never the slickest gagsmith, and his rustiness was clear in his persistent straying from the microphone.
When he could be heard though, he still had the nose for a memorable vignette, judging by the confessions from his sitcom-style life.
I could have done without his Frank Skinneresque groupie memories, but his squirmingly funny account of taking his daughter into a public lavatory struck a strident chord and his reading of accidental rude lines in Anna Karenina pleased the crowd.
Besides, anyone who calls his cat Chairman Miaow gets my vote.
Adam Hills is at Soho Theatre until 23 October. Information: 020 7478 0100, sohotheatre.com
David Baddiel
IndigO2
Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX
