Alfie Moore - I Predicted A Riot

What must other comics make of Alfie Moore, a serving policeman, rising among their ranks – a proverbial cat among the pigeons? David Mitchell doesn’t mind – he’s sitting behind me laughing like a pissed lord throughout. But the Peep Show star isn’t exactly the kind of comedian you picture indulging in a cheeky spliff or something stronger pre- or post-gig. Bill Hicks must be turning in his grave, and perhaps rightly so – shouldn’t great comedy flaunt or even kick out at authority?

Not your average plod, Moore is a staunch Sheffield socialist (much as his too close to the bone joke about miners might raise doubts) with a pronounced liberal streak. Dressed in a smart suit, his chatty, cheerful musings on family, religion and sexuality are right on and funny. But the show’s thrust is how he predicted last August’s English riots, and threatens daring political critique.

Moore’s boldest comment is accusing executive pen-pushers of deciding it was cheaper to let buildings burn rather than immediately pour police into London and Birmingham – hardly radical stuff. I sense a bit of deference and restraint because Tom is in the audience – a retired Edinburgh CID officer politely protocol-minded enough not to admit he outranks the man with the mic.

Moore is a master raconteur – a brilliantly black-humoured anecdote about minding a severed head found by a riverbank nearly causes one woman to laugh her own nut off. But it’s my feeling that until he chooses comedy over being a copper—and if Tom didn’t enjoy himself that decision might be made for him—his hands will remain somewhat cuffed.