Review by Steve Bennett

Jason 'Entertainment' Cooke certainly lives up to his self-generated nickname, with his assertive stage presence and an obvious willingness to please.

That he's so self-confident comes as no surprise when you learn that he's been performing as a poet and musician since 1985. However, he's only a recent convert to stand-up.

Such inexperience does reveal itself in the material: behind that strong delivery is someone who has yet to find their own comedic voice.

It means his set is a rag-bag collection of styles - from musical parodies, to prop comedy via quickfire puns and more involved tales - but it never really settles on anything.

Some of the gags are inspired, many less so, but one strength is the speed at which they come, so weaker gags simply don't have the time to die before we've moved onto the next one.

When the pace slackens, so does the impact - a routine where he produces a small library of books from the charity shop in which he works, each with a vaguely suggestive title, stretches what should be a throwaway gag beyond its breaking point.

It's all very jolly, though, and like his moniker promises, he will entertain - even if it's only on the most superficial of levels.

Review date: 1 Jul 2003
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett