Intelligent, daring comedy

Is the world ready for a cross between Eric Hobsbawm and Mike Yarwood? If so, Robert Newman fits the bill. His current show, From Caliban to Taliban - 500 Years Of Humanitarian Intervention, is as cerebral as comedy dares and then some. It also boasts a spot-on, petulant Johnny Rotten and the most oleaginous Tony Blair this side of Rory Bremner.

Newman made his name as a pin-up stand-up, peaking with a historic Wembley gig alongside David Baddiel. But success did not sit easily on his Cambridge-educated shoulders. He rediscovered his political roots and Rob became Robert, just as Debbie Harry became Deborah when she wanted to be taken seriously.

For a while the new Newman became too bogged down in antiglobalist rhetoric to reach his punchlines, but here he sees the bigger picture and remembers the payoffs. Conspiracy theories are backed by facts. Shakespeare had shares in companies that colonised Virginia, American armed forces have seen action abroad every year since 1611 apart from 1892. There is also a brilliant setpiece about Sherlock Holmes meeting Watson after a spell in Afghanistan.

Newman's major problem is that in 75 minutes he barely starts. Most comedians think they are being political if they drop the occasional reference to 11 September. For the sober-suited Newman this is virtually incidental, referred to as "them two planes". Whenever he comes close to being too earnest he adds a concise little impression, maybe Joe Strummer or a Chechen rebel, to remind everyone that this is not a rally.

At times the work feels like a lecture, particularly when Newman mutters to himself donnishly or refers to notes, but when he hits his stride, there is no stopping him. This rarefied brand of satire will never fill Wembley, but it fills heads with ideas and that is a much more profound achievement.

Robert Newman is appearing at the Soho Theatre again on 11, 13, 20 and 27 November, and 4, 11 December. Box office: 020 7478 0100.

Robert Newman - From Caliban to the Taliban - 500 Years of Humanitarian Intervention