Sean Hughes: What I Meant To Say Was...

Sardonic Irish stand-up Sean Hughes brings his show What I Meant To Say Was? for a mini-run at the Soho Theatre. The youngest comic to win the prestigious Perrier Award, for his Edinburgh Fringe debut in 1990, Hughes has got more bitter and acerbic as the years have passed. Now 44, bearded (to hide the fat face he got from giving up smoking), single and jaded, Hughes takes out his frustration on all and sundry with his new woe-is-me turn. Previously unafraid at poking fun at Madeleine McCann and tsunamis, Hughes's more recent targets include Stephen Fry, Michael Jackson ("he had so many drugs inside him he could have won the Tour de France") and people in comas (for whom he would dress up as a Roman centurion - just to confuse should they wake up). While many will be offended by the comic's amorality - he once voiced his surprise at a famine victim having a wife and children because "he's not much of a catch" - Hughes still impresses with his playful delivery and soothing voice, creating what The Guardian describes as "a curious combination of jollity and cynicism".