Comedy fans don't come much more demanding than a pre-teen audience. James Campbell has set himself a tall task, as the world's only children's stand-up comic. But after 982 school performances and an Edinburgh sellout, he pulls off his West End debut with considerable aplomb - and not a custard pie in sight.
Campbell owes more to Eddie Izzard than Zippo's Circus. If your children are in that six-to-11 limbo, he is perfect, while sophisticated enough for adults not to be fidgety. Lean, tousled and resembling a dissolute whippet, he works predominantly within an established framework of animal-based anthropomorphism, tossing in running gags and bouncing off unsolicited contributions.
He has an answer for most interruptions. Discussing how big dogs are more chilled, an eager beaver announces that she has a terrier, and he wryly remarks that she might as well have a "yapping yo-yo". The lifeexpectancy of hamsters and the benefits of a pet cow also top his agenda, which certainly makes a refreshing change from Bush, Blair and Conservative Party HQ.
There are darker moments, too. Best of all is a brilliant sidebar about ads for upright baths for the elderly - familiar material but rarely tackled with such mordant acuity. Campbell notes that as the door cannot be opened when the tub is full, bathers have to sit and watch the water drain away, "like their life".
Having the house lights constantly up lends the performance a vague aroma of school assembly, while a song about lice had the definite air of Play Away about it. But this is merely nit-picking.
- James Campbell is at the Criterion Theatre on Saturdays at 2pm, until 29 November. Information: 020 7413 1437.
