Andy Parsons, touring

For my money, Andy Parsons is by some distance the best panellist on BBC2’s Mock the Week - not that you would know it from the editing, which appears to be in thrall to that shouty Scottish bloke. Parsons is quick, witty, clever and has a command of current affairs that only MTW host Dara O Briain can match. What a pleasure, then, to see him live, commanding the audience’s rapt and thoroughly entertained attention in a show that lasted more than two hours, but which just flew by.

Parsons, with his shaven head and Estuary vowels, could be mistaken for a London cabbie but is in fact a Cambridge law graduate and his clever, often political comedy is testimony to a fine intelligence. And his deadpan, staccato and sometimes shouty delivery have led to him being described as Mr Angry, but that is to ignore the light and shade that he brings to his comedy. Yes, the nominal theme of Citizens! suggests that the default position of Britons is to say that everything about this country is a bit rubbish, but Parsons is also affectionately highlighting the idiocy of such a view.

And occasionally he allows himself a smile or a laugh at his own material. On the night I saw Parsons (at the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, which has incredibly nice and helpful front-of-house staff) he burped halfway through a joke and dissolved into giggles: “I’m being heckled by my own body,” he said.

He begins by talking to the front row and quickly finds a young lad who doesn’t get a reference to his non-human driving companion, Jane. “She’s the voice of my satnav...” Still no recognition. “I can see I’m playing to a mixed-ability audience” - and so the joshing goes on. And when he finds teachers in the audience, he deftly sets up a joke about the working hours (or rather, lack of) they share; the pay-off comes at the end of the show, which indicates a comic confident both in his ability to sculpt a joke and that the audience will have been paying attention.

Part of the Mr Angry persona is Parsons’ frequent use of swear words, but he’s unapologetic - “I like swearing. And it is clever” - but in truth strong language is used only when he is fired up about a subject. His very funny rap on the madness of the Government’s plan to retrain redundant bankers as teachers - they’ve made a mess of the City, so what’s to stop them making a mess of our schools? - contains some strong language, but the thought behind it is clearly heartfelt. And Parsons’ solution - sending unemployed bankers to do a proper job and fight in Afghanistan - is inspired.

During the show he has digs at Creationists, greedy utility companies and how much the 2012 Olympics are going to cost, but to suggest it’s all serious stuff is to do Parsons a disservice, as he finds humour in the silliest things. He makes great fun of bad drivers, traffic wardens and reality television, and his extended riff on what to do if a dog attacks you - with a punchline far too rude to repeat, but let’s just say try to keep a finger free to deliver the coup de grâce if it ever happens to you - is a highlight.

Andy Parsons is at the Lyric Theatre, London W1 tonight. Book here
Then touring until 17 November. Information
His DVD is released 23 November. Pre-order here