Long before he became a television regular a YouTube clip of his frustration at the state of his tattered post-flight luggage went viral. Now, after a number of well-crafted extended shows, he has upped the ante with The Man With the Flaming Battenberg Tattoo, adding a more personal element to his trademark tetchiness.
The curious title comes from a tattoo on his back, the personal angle comes from the show’s storyline about a make-or-break holiday with his girlfriend, while the joy comes from watching Gilbert’s frazzled, Fawltyesque anger increase exponentially with each instantly recognisable scenario until steam is virtually piping out of his ears. Greasy cafés, tiresome train staff, cowboy builders, shoestring airlines, a small supermarket in Cardiff, we’ve all been there. Well, maybe not to the supermarket in Cardiff ...
Best of all was his rant about receiving an electric toothbrush for Christmas from his girlfriend, a sure sign that their romance was as healthy as a rotten molar.
Gilbert gives his sweaty all throughout, perhaps too much. At nearly three hours, albeit partly due to unsolicited audience contributions, there were dips but surprisingly few. There was a slight credibility gap between what was true and what was comedic licence, but with so many laughs that barely mattered. Gilbert’s pain, whether real or staged, is our gain.
Until Saturday (0844 844 0444, ticketmaster.co.uk) comedy
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