When Mark Steel announced he would be giving a lecture on the French Revolution the audience could have been forgiven for checking their tickets.

This was supposed to be a comedy gig after all.

Fortunately, in Steel's capable comedy hands a potentially tedious topic was fashioned into a brilliantly funny monologue which put to shame those comics who, depressingly, still believe it is good enough to spend their sets pointing out the differences between men and women and contemplating the frustrations of queueing.

Steel pre-empted potential hecklers by interrupting his own lecture every couple of minutes to point out the parallels between the pomposity of the 18th-Century French nobility and the arrogance of the 21st-Century Blair regime.

Or to simply have a little rant.

A committed revolutionary socialist, Steel's enthusiasm for popular uprisings was palpable and his energy, combined with his sharp wit and ready sarcasm, made for an enjoyable and rewarding lecture.

When staff at the Corn Exchange asked him to hurry up and finish so they could get the venue ready for Patrick Kielty the audience, maybe for the first time ever, was sad to see a history lesson end.