Rhod Gilbert and the Cat That Looked Like Nicholas Lyndhurst

Grimsby Auditorium

I’M exhausted. I’ve just got in from what feels like a marathon. My neck aches, my head’s spinning and I’m tired… but I know this is not the dying remains of my cold - it’s because I’ve just spent the last two hours laughing. And laughing hard.

Rhod Gilbert performed his latest show to a sold-out Grimsby Auditorium in what was a tremendous masterclass in stand-up comedy.

While I want to get straight to the business of Rhod himself, some people on the balconies had problems with sound.

In fact, Rhod took the time on stage to make sure they were being dealt with, as well as taking the mick, of course.

Apparently he sounded muffled; that, coupled with his strong (but oh so lovely) accent must have been annoying.

But I understand the problem was fixed and complaints resolved, so I hope everyone is ultimately satisfied.

And while this may have disrupted the night for some, it cannot detract from how brilliant Rhod's performance was.

I've seen a lot of comedy, including Rhod himself year after year at the Edinburgh Festival, so perhaps I'm biased. But I'm sure the audience would agree with me.

There is little point in me telling you the jokes or the stories, or the reason for the show’s title, because it all sounds, well, trivial on paper.

Have you ever spent minutes laughing at the cap of a water bottle? In Rhod’s hands, I did.

Anyone who knows his routines will understand how he rages against bugbears; this time taking the forms of opening a washing machine door and buying a Hoover among others, while continually reassuring us he doesn’t need anger management.

Trivial. Rhod would no doubt bite my head off for saying such a thing; and this brings us to the point of his show - his journey of "therapy" after a bad year.

Coupled with the fact I’m a journalist (he hates them) and a woman (he hates them too because he'd been dumped), I’m half-scared to even write this.

If you believe him, that is. There is no doubt his material is based in reality, but when you go to one of his gigs, you play a game; a delightful and delicious one where you’re swept along with his fury (delivered with only occasional hints of a smile) and before you know it, you’re in the car on the way home, face slightly stained by tears (good ones), thinking of staring at a picture of a pebble to calm down.

It’s only afterwards you realise just how cleverly constructed the show is, and although now I myself probably need anger management, I wouldn’t want it any other way - stay cross, Rhod, it’s smashing.

Lucy Wood

The Grimsby Telegraph interviewed and filmed Rhod in Grimsby yesterday - see tomorrow's edition.