The closing song of Rob Newman’s new show hymns homo ergaster, a species of ancient human who – to our host’s approval – vanished from Earth leaving minimal trace that they were ever here. That’s not Newman’s style: when you exit his shows, it’s with a mind forcibly imprinted with new perspectives on (to cite tonight’s examples) geological time, speech evolution and Tertullian’s views on population control. But this latest set treads softly. It’s more jeu d’esprit, a playful canter alongside Newman’s intellectual hobbyhorses, than comedy put to the service of some heavyweight theory on humankind.
It’s still erudite, of course, to a self-conscious degree. Newman loves to send up his boffin-ish tendencies, and joke about what a turnoff they are for audiences. Let me demur: his shows are a joy to watch, a workout for the mind as well as the funny bone. The laughter quotient is high with this new offering, which centres Newman’s playful spirit, as routines about “rappers’ remorse”, DH Lawrence on friendship (an excellently twisty gag, that one) and a new communication system he’s established with his wife jostle for stage space with goofy electropop songs about ultra-low emission zones.
