Review by Steve Bennett

Yet somehow it works, just about, partly as a sort of ‘anti-comedy’ that ignores the conventions of the genre and partly for the daring of padding one idea with such verbosity.

The subject he mostly concentrates on is those special constabulary recruitment ads of a few years back that asked described difficult situations a copper might encounter, then asked: ‘I couldn’t do that? Could you?’ Not the most appealing way to advertise a job you might think – which is exactly Sharpe’s thrust.

Yet as he teases simple argument along, he does bring the audience with him, with a little twist here, or dramatic pause there to keep people’s interest. The eventual payoff is neat, however, while his appealing touches include pre-announcing a later callback.

The only part of his set hat’s not on this theme also takes inspiration from TV ads – concentrating on the expensive commercials heralding Norwich Union’s rebranding as Aviva. Similarly, this culminates in a nice idea but doesn’t say much along the way… and likewise works a lot better than you would expect,

His would, however, be an even better set had he not followed such an obvious train of thought. But in style and persona, Sharpe is an intriguing prospect.

Review date: 1 May 2009
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett