Review: Shirley Ghostman, Bush Hall, W12

It's not often I change my mind about seeing a show. Once it drops off the reviews list it has missed its moment. I was too busy to see spoof psychic Shirley Ghostman's "Spooktacular" opening night, but when I looked on Twitter and saw enthusiastic reports from comedians whose opinion I respect, such as Reece Shearsmith and Richard Herring, plus a lot of fans excited about it, I thought I'd better check it out. And I didn't regret it. Who could have predicted that?

Review: Shirley Ghostman's at Bush Hall, W12

There are several laugh-out-loud set pieces in Marc Wootton's spoof psychic show, but some ideas need work.

Review: Shirley Ghostman's Spooktacular

Shirley Ghostman is back from the dead - and just in time for Halloween.

Shirley Ghostman's Spooktacular review

The whole show would benefit from being tighter, but Wooton's performance is as, erm, spirited as you could want, as he sells his ideas with bold conviction - even overcoming the evil juju that got into the PA system and cursed his headset mic.

Why do some comics make it big and not others?

There are all sorts of comedians I thought would make it but for some reason or other didn't. I tipped Marc Wootton for stardom in the Evening Standard so often it started to become embarrassing. People probably thought we must be related. I also think Boothby Graffoe could have been a mainstream star. Even Addy Van Der Borgh could have been a Saturday night shiny-floored clown. But for some reason none of these people made it as big as I expected. There is still time I guess. Maybe not enough time to get to the O2 this Friday, but there is always next year.

Couples review - a parade of hysterical eccentrics

Surreal and disturbed meets goading and diabolical as Julia Davis and Marc Wootton play a series of couples in therapy.

It is amazing what can be achieved in half an hour with just a great script, an excellent cast and a large wardrobe. Written by and starring Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, Inside No. 9 is a series of self-contained comedy dramas set in buildings or spaces numbered nine.

Episode one set a very high standard indeed, with an exquisitely crafted tale of jealousy, revenge, ambition, snobbery and murder centred around a country house game of sardines. With each new player discovering the hiding place, the wardrobe fills not only with bodies, but also hidden agendas, strained relationships, sinister backstories and rancid sweat (one eager participant, Smelly John, hadn't washed since he was a teenager).

No review of Shearsmith and Pemberton's work is complete without the adjectives dark and comic getting a mention, and I'm not about to break with tradition. But Inside No. 9 also offered poignancy, tension, intelligence, horror and several surprises. The lean, mean narrative didn't just twist and turn, it folded back upon itself to provide a totally unexpected, profoundly disturbing and deeply satisfying denouement. Even Smelly John's personal hygiene problem was revealed to be integral to the plot, rather than a mere comedy contrivance.

The writers also put in great performances as a bickering gay couple, supported by an impressively stellar cast that included Timothy West, Anna Chancellor, Marc Wootton and Anne Reid.

This comedy about three friends trying to set up an assisted suicide business has its moments thanks to its talented cast. When it works, the mix of the dark, the absurd and the comic is very funny but crassness (maybe hard to avoid given the subject matter) sometimes gets in the way. Tonight Scott (Blake Harrison) falls for Julia (Laura Aikman), the daughter of his first client. Cozzo (Marc Wootton), meanwhile, has some explaining to do after his girlfriend (Sinéad Matthews) finds a stash of cash. The boys also help an old man find relief and a reason to live - which is not exactly part of their remit!