Andy de la Tour: Stand-Up or Die in New York

From arch political satirist at the birth of alternative comedy—or, at least, a comic self-admittedly perceptive enough to cry “wanking” and “Thatcher!” in his sets—Andy de la Tour has developed into a convivial raconteur. The 66-year-old actor and screenwriter retired from live comedy in 1990 but in 2010, feeling in the professional doldrums, resolved to try standup once more. Yet this time, he chose to perform in New York, where no one knew him.

Painting a vivid-ish picture of the open mic circuit in Manhattan and Brooklyn, he boldly resolved to criticise Barack Obama when most comics fought shy of knocking the first black president. Those routines carry a mild frisson, even if Obama remains resolutely standing afterwards. Regrettably though, de la Tour surrounds his tale with easy pot shots at the conservative cranks dominating the right wing of US politics, familiar subjects of derision for most in the UK, to which he adds little fresh understanding. Considerably worse, he pads out his hour with wry musings on the size of American food portions, when most in the crowd, I'm sure, would much rather hear more about his days performing at the Fringe with Ben Elton and the late Rik Mayall.

Most criminally of all though, the most compelling narrative thread in his recent book of the same name, about how he challenged himself to talk about 9/11 on New York stages, is conspicuous by its absence. Who wants waffle about pancakes and hash browns when there's this much more appealing, spiky line of enquiry to explore?