Josh Widdicombe, Kings Theatre, Southsea, REVIEW: 'Catch him if you get the chance'

I was wrong. Support came in the shape of Britain's 96th most powerful lesbian: Rosie Jones.

She has cerebral palsy but suffers from being 'northern'! She is very funny and her 20-minute slot is all too short.

Bantering with the front row is an easy way for a comic to establish a rapport with the audience. Usually. Josh Widdicombe is not the sort who delights in belittling or being overly abusive but even he concedes defeat when talking with the Kings front row.

Fortunately the hapless Stu and his girlfriend do introduce Plymouth-born comedian to the Portsmouth-Gosport rivalry and he is able to riff on that before kicking on to the show proper.

Recounting gags in reviews is a soulless exercise so don't expect me to do that here. I will tell you that, whether he is outlining all the things he hates about weddings (yet still dreads invites that specify 'evening only'), or his worst-ever holidays the gags come thick and fast.

His style is observational (veering into Dave Gorman territory towards the end with a tale of takeaway delivery woe) and will be familiar to fans of Channel 4's The Last Leg or his own eponymous BBC sitcom Josh.

My favourite moment came when he told of booking into hotels with his orthopaedic pillow, a genuinely hilarious piece.

Josh comes across as a thoroughly engaging fella on the telly and on stage he is more of the same. You as if he could turn up for a pint and a curry with your mates and you'd all get along like a house on fire which is, if you think about it, pretty high praise.

Catch him if you get the chance. Failing that make sure you watch him on the telly, he's well worth your time.