Catherine Tate Show Live

She’s back! Hilarious night was had in the company of everyone’s favourite Tate characters. A decade on since her television show Tate opened the show with Irish nurse Bernie despite an unprompted coughing fit which had the audience in stitches from the word go. Her trio of co-stars Mathew Horne, Nicky Wardley and Brett Goldstein all delivered excellent performances as various support characters throughout the show. The sets were simple but very effective. An ingenious video sketch with Radio DJ Nick Grimshaw’s toe curling phone in with cackling foul mouthed Nan Taylor (on her way to Brighton having won tickets for the show) was shown during set changes.

Many characters we have grown to love were also out in force, Essex couple Paul and Sam still finding the little things in life hilarious from their sofa, Derek ‘how very dare you’ Faye’s camp hissy fitting innuendos about his sexuality with reference to Brighton Rock and the Bull Dog pub, long suffering office worker Ellen trying to ignore her passive-aggressive colleague ‘have a guess’ Kate and of course everyone’s favourite school girl ‘am I bovvred’ Lauren who brought the house down during the knife throwing sketch with her cynical outbursts and lack of knife throwing skills. The show climaxed with Nan Taylor appearing at the venue ticket in hand, subjecting unsuspected members of the audience with verbal abuse whilst attempting to throw them out of ‘her’ seat. For the finale Tate made what at first seemed a serious appeal to support her in her campaign then burst into song ’stand up for gingers’. Pure gold.

The Brighton Centre, Brighton   24th November 2016

Lesley Lawrence

[rating: 4]