Forget everything you think you know about ventriloquism. Shut it neatly away in a box along with that fat little green bird who wished he could fly and that mangy Scotty dog that used to spit a lot. Because throwing your voice has just come of age in this West End premiere, following the Tony Award-winning success of his Broadway debut last year.

Accompanying this gifted showman and master storyteller on stage for an autobiographical blend of comedy and theatrical story-telling is a wonderfully eclectic cast of characters including Darwin, a rare breed of jazz monkey who was born in a trunk in a comedy club, Spaulding, a tennis ball retired from the game after a particularly rough Andy Rodick match, and Bob, a product of the Hollywood star system and Jay’s famous co-star from the Seventies international hit comedy, SOAP.