Despite being a product of the past five decades, which encompasses a comedy travelogue from Music Hall to popular TV and takes in Stand-Up and that raft of ‘Shock Mock’ protagonists that I have to state I loathed immensely, mainly because of their insistence of picking on their audience as a means to generating comedic responses, I am sorry but sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, there is a fresh crop of performers that seems to have landed on Planet Earth, with which I can feel a degree of empathy.

Jason Manford is a perfect example. Even though he started at a young age, cutting his teeth on the club scene of Manchester, he remains a fairly young man and, aided by a fairly broad range of TV appearances, which made it seem as though he had sprung from zero to hero in next to no time, he holds his own with the guile of a seasoned campaigner, while curling his lip and raising his eyebrows with the unassuming wit of a naughty schoolboy. He is a likeable Mancunian lad, who is able to laugh off the ‘Madchester’ taunts that might have been directed at his potential musical inspiration, Oasis.

His set at Manchester’s Apollo Theatre, albeit something of a homecoming gig for a moderately well-travelled fellow, starts out in a friendly manner as he assesses the worth of his audience with the eye of a forty year comedic veteran. After some mild banter, none of which is achingly embarrassing, he enters the realms of the reputed local crime scene and asks if anybody present had been the victim of crime. When an audience member (not a ‘plant’) responds that he had been ‘mugged’ that very evening, but adds that it was in the bar at the very same theatre, the jest is obvious and Manford has his audience unquestioningly on-side.

A run of chapters (maximum of twelve) demonstrates that far from being as loose a performance as it may come across, this is a show of cleverly considered action and reaction. The humour is familiar but delivered in a massively pleasant way, even the few sexual or toilet references made are done so in an aura of wide-eyed innocence, which the audience simply pecks at gently from the artist’s hands. I found myself laughing heartily on several occasions and ticking at the box which says ‘this guy has made it’.

The DVD also carries some Extras that include a largely worthless ‘Behind The Scenes’ snapshot of two of his shows, a feature on Manford’s beloved Manchester City FC and a less-than-amusing interview with the team mascot, ‘Moonchester’ and a interview held between Jason’s brother, Colin, and himself under the handle of ‘Manford on Manford’, which provides almost as much of an insight to the artist as his on-stage persona. Overall, very enjoyable.