COMEDIANS are like farmers' fields – in order to achieve maximum productivity they need to have fallow periods from time to time. Unless you keep pumping them full of chemicals, of course, but as any agronomist worth his salt will tell you, that's no
t really much of a long-term solution.
This year, Stephen Grant feels like a comedian between great shows. Last year's was an absolute humdinger and I, for one, can't wait for August 2009, when, he tells us, he'll be legally entitled to talk about his ongoing divorce. This year, however, he's a little disappointing, but even a below-par Grant is still well worth the price of admission.
The title of his show, Second, is a reference to the fact that the Brighton native seems to have come second in everything he has ever done, from going for a presenter's job on Top Gear (second to Richard Hammond) to being the most-searched Stephen Grant on Google (second to some American loon who murdered his wife). His overarching argument is that you learn more from coming second than you do from coming first – a thesis I'm sure he'll go on to prove to great effect in 12 months' time.
• Until 25 August. Today 6pm
The full article contains 219 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
