Alex Lowe: Let's Talk to Barry

One night back in May 2005, 39-year-old writer/actor Alex Lowe phoned up his LBC presenter pal Iain Lee live on air and started what was to become something of a cult hit.

At first, Lee had no idea it was his former colleague calling in because Lowe was bringing to life 'Barry from Watford', an octogenarian cocknet living in the homogenised, soulless suburbs, eager for people to listen to him.

Since then he has regaled listeners with gardening tips, tales of his wife Margaret, holidays to East Devon and the minutiae of a life obsessed with trivialities. Lowe's brilliantly realised creation - all disjointed, bumbling conversation punctuated with the odd wheeze - has pulled the wool over the eyes of many LBC listeners.

But knowing that Barry is fiction doesn't matter: his stories and their barmy targets ('I think the slugs are attracted to my wife's Charlie perfume'), sepia-tinged memories and desperation to find a community spirit, albeit on the airwaves, are easy to identify with.

Tonight, Lowe reprises his live show of 2006, a run-through of Barry's life story which comes complete with music, a slide show, audio clips from his LBC calls, and recorded contributions from Lee and Catherine Tate - plus a few prosthetics to help Lowe look the part. But the roots of Barry's appeal remain the same: plenty of fun ramblings, shot through with a warm pathos, from a creation sweetly at odds with the modern world.

Tonight until Friday, Hen & Chickens Theatre, 109 St. Paul's Road N1, 7.30pm £9, £8 concessions. Tel: 020 7704 2001. Tube: Highbury & Islington