Justin Moorhouse: Stretch & Think review
In a homecoming of sorts for the comedian and actor from Ashton-under-Lyne, the former Phoenix Nights star got a great reception from a lively Lowry Theatre.
It was a welcome that was thoroughly deserved thanks to a career stretching over 20 years and with his current set, he’s showing no signs of slowing down just yet. There’s no doubt he can still keep up with the best.
The theme of the set loosely revolved around how Moorhouse and other men deal with sensitive subjects such as grief and women’s health issues. There was a good blend of material that felt fresh as well as reminiscences about life when he was younger. There was something for everyone.
Throughout the set, 52-year-old Moorhouse expertly touched on the most delicate topics, such as gender, race and politics. All of them were treated with the utmost respect, and in a way that never felt like it was too overwhelming.
Whereas other well-known comedians may have purposely gone too far to try and get a certain kind of reaction from their audience, Moorhouse’s set always felt like everyone was welcome and nobody was going to go home with a bitter taste.
Before the set started, he warmed the crowd up nicely with interactions in the first two rows. He did well to make impromptu jokes out of what mostly were mundane responses.
Justin Moorhouse is the type of guy you would always want to hang out with down the pub and the early conversations with the crowd only highlighted this.
This was before he welcomed Chester comedian, Danny Mcloughlin to deliver a 25-minute set which was a nice addition to the evening as well.
Mcloughlin, an experienced comedian, never felt out of his depth in the huge Lyric Theatre room and was the perfect act before Moorhouse returned to deliver his set after the interval.
Overall, it was a wonderful evening spent at the Lowry and it is hard to find anything to complain about.
Moorhouse is currently in the middle of his nationwide tour. Dates and tickets can be found here.