Ken and the art of motorcycle maintenance (ish)

Ken Dodd is an entertainment legend. With over 60 years ‘in the biz’ picking up awards as plentifully as if they were daisies in a field, and a reputation for never being ‘off’, Mr Dodd simply overflows with gags, hard-won silliness, professionalism, all the while incorporating a vocabulary all of his own yet immediately recognisable and understandable. It’s hardly surprising that one of his two gigs in our locale this weekend has already sold out.
The shows are listed as starting earlier than most, possibly because of Dodd’s reputation for overrunning for as long as he feels like, meaning in the past trains have been missed and babysitters raked in the overtime – so do arrive on time. And step into the town of Knotty Ash, as the octogenarian comic whose career the rest of the comedy youngsters will be chasing up in Edinburgh this month. This is how it’s done. With tickling sticks, non-stop gags and even a spot of opera.

The Ken Dodd Happiness Show, Pavilion Theatre, Worthing, Saturday 6 August, 7pm, SOLD OUT, worthingtheatres.co.uk; Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, Sunday 7 August, 7pm, £22/20, www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk