Harry Hill and Friends comedy review: sublimely silly

So what would you do next if your first West End musical had closed quicker than you hoped? In Harry Hill’s case he has followed the ending of his X Factor satire I Can’t Sing! by getting back to basics with a show that drags the variety format laughing and giggling into the 21st century.

The only thing long-winded about this gig was the title — Harry Hill and Friends: Adventures in Entertainment 3. Acts popped up with rapid-fire riffs, while the big-collared master of ceremonies knitted things together with his trademark madcap sensibility. “I don’t know what I’m doing here. I don’t need the money,” he quipped.

Each guest seemed to channel a little bit of Hill. Natasia Demetriou and Ellie White also had hints of French and Saunders in their surreal clowning. And, like the host, absurdist raconteur John Kearns and oblique poet Tim Key demonstrated that there is more to humour than punchlines.

But Hill dominated. He seemed liberated, itching to let rip and interact with the audience. At one point he mounted a latecomer and tried to ride them. Another highlight was seeing him serenade a bemused fan with the Sinatra classic Something Stupid — two words which perfectly summed up a sublimely silly evening.