By Andrew Clarke

Last updated 16:13, Wednesday, 26 March 2008

“THIS place is far too big for me,” comedian Sean Lock admitted to a far from full Sands Centre on Good Friday night. “I think they may have over-estimated my appeal.”

And although Lock may have being doing himself an injustice, it’s fair to say that the smaller crowd didn’t make it an easy gig for him.

The management of the Sands deserve credit for once again attracting a top name to the venue. However, the layout of the hall when an act doesn’t sell out, as was the case on Friday, can leave a strange atmosphere.

Because, apart from a patch of 100 or so seats directly in front of the stage, the bulk of the audience in the tiered seats are around 50 yards from the act, with a gaping empty space in between.

The hall is a big one to be only semi-full and the result is an odd, echoing effect that meant Lock had to work harder for every laugh.

That’s not to say that it was a bad show. Although Lock may not have been as consistently funny as other comedians to have visited in recent times, such as Jo Brand and Ross Noble, there were far more hits than misses in his set.

Most of the topics covered were pretty standard as far as contemporary comedy goes – the wife, growing old, the environment and, you’ve guessed it, political correctness gone mad. But Lock’s witty observations on these well-worn topics were refreshing and original.

His bemoaning of the smoking ban was among his best material. “People keep telling me I should give up smoking and they say: ‘Think of all the money you’ll save’. But if I stop smoking, I’ll live longer and will need to spend all that I have saved up,” he announced logically, before patenting his idea for hands-free cigarettes so they can’t ban smoking in cars.

The celebrity culture got an earbashing (“You can tell how good a singer is by how far she needs to stick her bottom out while she’s singing”), and he shared his ideas for hydraulic platform shoes, which gradually get lower the more the wearer has to drink!

He also explained why he was asked to record a warning message for people who speed while driving around safari parks. “It’s a warning to people who momentarily forget where they are, see a lion in the rear view mirror, and put their foot down.”

The show wasn’t a unmitigated success as one or two punchlines fell flat but, all in all, an enjoyable night for those who went along. Just a shame there weren’t a few more willing to do so.