Review: Bill Bailey, Limboland, Scarborough Spa

This is comedy at its cleverest – a philosphical shaggy dog story with no beginning, middle or end.

The ideas, like Bailey, never stay still long enough for you to get a real grasp of them. His mind his racing and you’re running to keep up – and it’s great fun.

It’s like a story involving his slightly built mother-in-law Ann being pulled by a dog sled – you’re “like a pringle being towed by a Maserati”.

Just what Ann was doing on the sled in the first place was a whole different story.

Then there’s music – Bailey roams the instrument-laden stage picking up a guitar and playing heavy metal, rock or blues – stopping at the keyboards for a blast of Liszt or giving us a savage country and western tune played on a banjo “made from a bible”. And move aside Gareth Malone, he turned us into a choir in 30 seconds.

Limboland is two hours of gob-smacking genius, hippy cool and sharp asides – including Elton John being a “blinged up Janette Krankie” (didn’t know there was anyone else who hadn’t fallen for the ‘saint Elton’ schtick).

Bailey takes your intelligence for granted and invites you on an existential journey of free-falling ideas – from first love to the difference between happiness and contentment.

Brilliantly brainy. This is rock with laughter.

Bill Bailey is back at the Spa tonight – Thursday November 12 – at 8pm.

Tickets: 01723 821 888 or www.scarboroughspa.co.uk

Review: Sue Wilkinson