David O'Doherty

David O’Doherty can squeeze more joy out of a battery-powered keyboard than you would have thought possible.

With nothing more than a taped-up Casio and a book of sex tips discovered in a dentist’s waiting room, O’Doherty blazed his way through a brilliant two-hour gig at the Norwich Playhouse.

Interspersing stand up with comic songs, he kept the audience rapt throughout. Whether touching on his upbringing in Ireland; the frustration of dealing with a recession the causes of which you care nothing about; or the collapse of a relationship and the resulting battle of wills and sandwich spreads with a mouse, he effortlessly takes the tragic and makes it uplifting and entertaining.

The musical numbers don’t have the technical splendour of a Tim Minchin song - nor are they meant to - but that fractious, stumbled playing is part of their charm. This is low-fi, messy, silly comedy that is also sophisticated, smart and sensationally funny.

O’Doherty played to a sell-out crowd tonight and deserves the same when he returns to the Playhouse later this month for a second dose. Go on, treat yourself.

Seize the David O’Doherty returns to Norwich Playhouse on Monday, October 29.