From the moment Mike Sheer appeared it was clear we were in for an energetic show. Bounding to the stage, he displayed instant presence and charisma and his improvised opener of removing the empty front row of seats was both original and clever. The crowd responded with a few titters and it seemed that we were in for an hour of laughs.
Unfortunately appearances can be deceptive and all the energy in the world can't make up for poor material. The majority of Sheer's puns seemed to fall flat and his long drawn-out anecdotes about McDonalds and ‘potential’ proved downright boring at times. When, halfway through the show, we were asked if we’d like a short break to go to the bar, I wasn’t sure if this was an attempt to get alcohol down people’s necks in the vain hope that we might find the punch lines more amusing or if he himself needed a break from the struggle of it all. Whatever the reason; if you need a break after half an hour, it’s probably safe to say it’s not going well.
Sheer came back for the second half as fired up as ever, undaunted by the audience’s lack of enthusiasm. And in his improvised sections he really shone. In fact, if he’d focussed more on this instead of relying on stories full of toilet humour, it could have been a very different show and this could be a very different review.
As things are though, despite a natural charm I really warmed to, Sheer just doesn't have the jokes. As a reviewer I can afford to be generous but paying to see a comedian means expecting more than a couple of quips that make us giggle; we can get that from our friends in the pub.
It was unfortunate, though, that he never seemed to gain momentum as there were some funny moments; just not enough to fill an hour’s slot or win over an audience that didn’t seem behind him most of the time. Mike Sheer certainly has something, he just doesn't have enough of it yet.
