Watson casts the net a bit too wide

Mark Watson: The Information

This latest offering from the breathless, neurotic nerd Mark Watson (known for, among other things, his "non-speaking roles" on Mock The Week) constantly suggests that it is going to amount to something more than it is.

The theme of the show is how information on the internet can be used for, against and on behalf of the individual. A year ago, Dave Gorman played the same venue with a show on a similar theme. One example he cited was the spreading of the harmless myth that he was a Jewish comedian. The same thing, we discover, has happened to Watson, further underlining the similarities between the two shows. Gorman, inevitably, tackled the theme with plenty of bells and whistles. Watson has a screen but it merely projects his mobile phone number and social media details to allow the audience to contact him throughout the show and thus illustrate his points about instant knowledge and validation.

It's not the low-maintenance feel of the show that is the issue, however. It is that it constantly builds up a head of nervous steam that fails to lead anywhere. Still there are plenty of chuckles to be had in the goofing about inbetween and Watson's vaudevillian rhythms.