Howard Read: Hide and Speak

The technology is the most sophisticated thing about this hit-and-miss routine from comedian, animator and ukulele player Howard Read. In it, his best-known creation, Little Howard, is joined by a cast of brand new characters as part of an experimental show in which on-screen cartoon figures interact live with the audience.

It's an innovative idea, and fascinating to watch as the headset-wearing Read—synched up to a bank of laptops to the side of a projector screen—voices the likes of a lascivious chicken and various monkeys and neanderthals. But the small stage space means it's hard to ignore his presence and the occasional technical glitch interrupts the flow.

Read covers these cracks with easy, blokey charm and brings a lot of energy to proceedings as he introduces his various "special guests" with considerable fanfare. The piece itself is a jokey evolutionary history of comedy told by a David Attenborough-styled crab, interspersed with appearances by God, David Cameron and a snivelling Nick Clegg.

It's a patchy affair, with some good gags but more that fall flat or get lost in a welter of animated faeces and cock jokes. An opportunity to shoot the leaders of the Coalition in the head using a Wii controller might be cathartic, but the show's crudeness isn't balanced out by cleverness. Billed as being for adults, tonally this feels more like one of Read's kids' shows with a fouler mouth. Too often, the humour lags behind the ingenious design.