Live Review: David Cross, Leicester Square Theatre, WC2

Apart from the UK-based Rob Delaney David Cross is probably America’s most Anglophile comedian. As well as making his name in Arrested Development and Mr Show he has worked with British comics on shows such as Bliss, which he recently said will sadly not be returning. Heck, he even used to subscribe to Private Eye. Now that’s Anglophilia taken to extremes.

But then Cross likes to take things to extremes. His latest show Oh Come On attracted the attention of the American Secret Service because of his routine about the things that should happen in a debate with Trump. Needless to say Cross was not suggesting a mature, sensible verbal discussion.

The bearded 54-year-old starts the political section of his show by saying that there’s not much you can say about Trump. There’s no big comedy reveal with the President, he explains. Anyone who knows anything about the man can’t exactly say his actions have surprised them.

But having said that the President is beyond satire Cross still finds plenty about him to amuse his crowd. Apart from the aforementioned routine there is also a delicious riff about people finally losing faith in Trump. Cross proceeds to run through a list of reasons why anyone with a grain of humanity would have changed their vote a long time ago. It a pithy, increasingly funny routine, finding distinctive ground somewhere between Stewart Lee and Mark Thomas.

Elsewhere Cross finds plenty of laughs in the well-trodden terrain of being a new parent. His insights aren’t profound, but he is such an assured, relaxed performer onstage that he is never less than watchable (and yes, I know that’s not a quote you are going to put on your poster).

Likewise he is not the first cynical comic to dismantle the “wellness” industry, but he finds fresh ground on the subject of colonic irrigation. The further he probes the funnier it gets.

This is clever, well-informed, opinionated stand-up at its best, peppered with brutally funny take-downs about the modern world. The only part I’d take issue with is Cross putting the boot into the sunkissed suburbs of Los Angeles. By sheer coincidence I’d been telling someone how much I liked Santa Monica about an hour before the show. After dissing Santa Monica he then mentioned that Brits seem to like it. He clearly knows us better than we know ourselves.

Until Friday, September 28. Tickets here.

Picture courtesy of Just For Laughs

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