DVD review by Steve Bennett

The charismatic Canadian has the air of a barfly holding court about how matrimony has held him back, reducing his life to a dead-end of conformist middle-class dinner-part-going drudgery, when he's really a wild man. But deep down you suspect that it's all alcohol-induced bravado, and however arrogant he gets, if his Missus walked into the pub, all the tough talking about what he could have been would evaporate in a flash and he'd revert to the dutiful husband. It's that that unstated aspect that – just about – means he gets away with some borderline sexist material.

You'd have to be especially generous to apply that same get-out to latter jokes. A gag about women being punched in the head has the sort of shock value you ought to expect from Frankie Boyle's co-writer, even if he gives it some context; while calling airline employees 'easyJet bitches' is even more gratuitous, however frustrated he gets at the fees they are told to collect.

Essentially the first half of Stade's debut DVD, covering his greatest hits from a sizeable comedy career, is this defining extended joke demeaning his marriage, as he gives it the big 'I am' and ignoring any possible benefits of his relationship. His most common gesture is to put his arms open wide in a faux-innocent 'What'd I say?' move. There seems to be a lot of agreement in the Bloomsbury Theatre, especially, I suspect, among the male half.

The second half is broader observational stuff, the hassles of travel, fat Americans and so forth; a bit more of a mixed bag in terms of inspiration, but delivered with a hefty punch, and a brilliantly original technique of recruiting some poor sap from the front row to verify his unlikely tales, as if they were best buddies reminiscing.

Recorded at: Bloomsbury Theatre
Time: 80 minutes
Extras: A very brief chat with his support act, John Lynn
Released by: Channel 4 DVD, November 18, 2013
Click here to order from Amazon for £12.03.

Published: 22 Nov 2013