Creating an impression

Rory Bremner. Photo credit Fane.

An Evening with Rory Bremner, Warwick Arts Centre.

Review by Peter Walters.

If hoaxing people over the telephone can be regarded as a true indicator of the impressionist's art, then Rory Bremner is a master. As the voice of Nelson Mandela, former Prime Ministers John Major and Gordon Brown, even King Charles - he's fooled many a hapless victim, not least former PM David Cameron's wife Samantha, who was convinced it was her husband, not Bremner, complaining about back ache while standing behind her at a party.

I don't know if he's tried out his Donald Trump on anybody yet, but it's a good one and it's no surprise that he opens his An Evening With show with the orange wonder.

Bremner has been doing this for forty years and inevitably many of those he inhabits belong to a distant age, racing commentator Peter O'Sullevan and Australian cricketer and pundit Richie Benaud to name just a couple. But he hasn't lost his sharpness and his two-hour show, performed alongside warm-up man and old mate, the comedian Miles Jupp, is pacy and slick.

There are surprises too. Early in the second half Bremner takes time out from the gags to talk movingly about understanding ADHD, something that he himself has been diagnosed with in recent years. And he promptly gets the biggest applause of the night from a sell-out audience almost entirely composed of Bremner fans who can remember his early years.

There are also clever musical riffs, Gilbert and Sullivan style, on King Charles's love of plants and on the rollcall of the new Labour Government's Cabinet, even if Angela Rayner's name did slip his mind for a moment or two. And his Kier Starmer sounds absolutely spot on.

Discover more from Warwick Arts Centre: https://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/