CityLife Rating
Count Arthur Strong: The Man Behind The Smile
Count Arthur Strong
The Lowry
January 22, 2010
THE Count is an irritable, curmudgeonly ex-actor who labours under delusions of his own grandeur and has a few problems with the English language.
Doesn’t sound like a laugh a minute, but he is a character wonderfully realised by comedian Steve Delaney and he had a packed-out audience in stitches.
He created the Count in the 1980s, but put him aside while acting on shows such as Casualty and The Bill. He then revived the character in 1997, and gained a strong cult following with stand up tours and a radio show.
Clever video sequences
Pompous and forgetful, the Count spent the 70-minute show reminiscing about his ‘glory days’, and getting cross with his hapless staff, including brilliantly camp drama student Malcolm, played by Terry Kilkelly.
Some of the references were for die-hard fans, but there was still plenty of amusement to be had in his constant malapropisms that came as an attempt to sound educated (he was particularly proud of his Psoriasis chair).
There were also some very clever video sequences where Count Arthur had been dubbed into classic 80s game shows like Ask the Family, and even had him interview Laurence Olivier (or Lawrence of Arabia as the Count kept calling him).
In a world of stand-ups like Russell Brand and Frankie Boyle, it is a refreshing change to remember that comedy can be gentle and funny too.
Reviewed: Mon, 25 January, 2010
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Marissa Burgess
09/02/09 09:43
THERE'S a pregnant pause near the beginning of the latest (as self-indulgent as it is misguided) offering from legendary luvvie Count Arthur Strong.
Robert Davidson (or is that David Robertson?) of Doncaster Cable Vision has already introduced his butcher-sponsored hero and on the screen we watch the Count fumbling with his lines in an episode of Dixon of Dock Green from Davidson’s extensive and obsessive clips collection of the Count’s TV work.
When Davidson departs the stage, for a good 30 seconds there’s no one on stage and no sound in the auditorium but for anticipatory titters from the knowing section of the audience before the familiar croak of the old soak announces off stage “I’m not ready, I’ve only got one leg in my show trousers.”
It’s a typical gloriously chaotic start to the brilliant character act’s show.
When the Count sets out to do something it’s more about how it goes wrong than what goes right.
Persistent coat hanger
Troubled by a lost shoe and a persistent coat hanger, the Count malaprops his way through yet another tribute to himself, organised entirely by himself, including the ‘sur-surprise’ he has organised which is set to include comedy legend Barry Cryer – if he can be found that is.
A showcase of his TV work revealing the ‘man behind the smile’ or ‘slime’ as his miss spelt banner states, allows for the Count to be shoe horned into a selection of TV clips from an early cyberman costume in Dr Who to an episode of Ask The Family with Arthur at the helm.
It’s another simple but effective gag from The Count’s creator Steve Delaney; we never tire of seeing the hunched old man skilfully spliced to the film reel.
As ever the action ends with the Count looking ridiculous and fully thwarted in his attempts to recreate his glory years.
Would we want him any other way? Sublime stuff.
This review is the opinion of a CityLife reader and not that of CityLife itself
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