Pierre Novellie is Mighty Peter

There's a moment tonight when, after performing some brilliantly archaic observational comedy relating to medieval law, Pierre Novellie takes a swipe at Michael McIntyre and professes his hatred of Mrs Brown's Boys. His bitchiness toward these bastions of broad comedy is well timed, for his academically-sound historical standup is far removed from the lucrative world of crass stereotypes and "man-drawers". It's at such moments in his set that Novellie can posit himself as a credible alternative comic. On other occassions he's as mainstream as they come.

Using his South African heritage as an icebreaker, he comments on well-trodden aspects of British culture such as queues, daytime TV and north/south regional divides with some flair, but notably lacks the slick professionalism one would observe in a master of the form. His comparison of the room he performs in—named 'The Bunker'—to an actual, you know, bunker, meanwhile, is hackish in the extreme. He's better than this.

When considering his faults, it's important to acknowledge the man's place as a reliable club comic with little experience of performing unbroken hours of standup. He's yet to decide on and fully flesh out a consistent stage persona, and so we find him at a crossroads this year. It's up to him whether he pursues the hugely funny weird stuff, or instead continues to make advances in the direction of David Cameron's DVD shelf.