Chichester: Fabulous night as Rob Brydon charms and teases adoring audience

Rob Brydon – A Night Of Songs & Laughter, Chichester Festival Theatre.
Rob BrydonRob Brydon
Rob Brydon

“I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a show as much as that,” a lady muttered as we shuffled down the stairs at the end of the evening.

And come to think of it, I am not sure I can either.

Rob Brydon pitched it absolutely perfectly for a glorious night, equal parts music, equal parts laughter - the story of his life through the songs which mean the most to him, all interspersed with reminiscences and glorious mickey-taking of the audience in front of him.

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Said audience lapped up every word of it – for the simple reason that he did it with such charm, such wit, such elegance.

We were the “old and the infirm”; and no, he’d never realised that Milletts did evening wear.

But the best teasing was saved for a random selection of audience members whom he singled out and kept returning to. Great sports one and all – and one of them was even invited onto the stage.

Elsewhere we had superb impressions of Ronnie Corbett, Tom Jones, Steve Coogan et al and songs including Elvis, Tom Waits and Guys and Dolls. And, of course, Islands In The Stream. Oh and a song made up especially for Chichester.

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And that was the glory of the night. Clearly Brydon has got the structure to the evening which will remain the same night after night, but so much was just for us on an evening which was a beautiful reminder of just how wonderful live in-the-moment entertainment can be.

As he said at the end, “Let’s hope for lots more nights like this when we can all be together again.” Absolutely. But it’s difficult to imagine that many of them will be as good as this one.

Stand-ups don’t come much more likeable than Rob Brydon; nor do they come much funnier. It’s a magnificent combination – especially with a brilliant eight-piece band behind him.

And how wise not to offer an encore. We all went home really really wanting more…