Arthur Smith is best known for his TV appearances on Grumpy Old Men and his Radio 4 slots on Loose Ends. The show was called Exposed! but Arthur remained fully clothed and only partially exposed the man behind the comedian.
There were old as the hill jokes, songs from the third best southern England Leonard Cohen tribute act, amusing extracts from his published memoirs, a singalong and poems both funny and not so funny.
It was 21st-century musical hall with very strong language, engaging and funny throughout.
Arthur did local too, reading from the Shoreham Herald, plus he managed to get the 700 bus a round of applause. He ended the first half with a serious poem about his dad, complete with cheesy backing track and red lighting, yet still managed to pull it off because Arthur is a lovable rogue in the Sid James tradition. Back in the 1980s, he wrote a West End play, An Evening With Gary Lineker.
Behind the rough Cockney voice, asking if the ladies knickers at M&S are not as good as they used to be, is an erudite man who is not only worth seeing but also worth making the effort to go and see.
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