There has been a lingering worry that Johnny Vegas might spread himself a bit thin this year. He has been a regular fixture on game shows, he is due to appear in a movie, The Virgin Of Liverpool with Ricky Tomlinson, and in the next series of Happiness with Paul Whitehouse. But screen appearances only hint at his appeal.
If you have never seen Vegas's live mix of pathos, confrontation and Falstaffian girth you haven't lived. I've seen the St Helens man mountain countless times and I still do not know where reality ends and the act begins. There had always been the suspicion that his onstage tipple was really Tizer, but at the Talk Of London last autumn fans were handing him doubles and he was knocking them back with alarming gusto. Events climaxed with two female devotees arm-wrestling for his favours.
An air of unpredictability always pervades his performances. He could be spoiling for a fight - particularly if someone mentions the ITV Digital monkey - but he might just want a cuddle. Either way, he will be unmissable.
Johnny Vegas, Sun 18 Aug, Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, NW1 (020-7486 2431).
