IT`S always something of a gamble for a photographer at a live comedy show. The risk of becoming the butt of the jokes is a real danger. Fortunately, Dave Spikey is more focused on presenting his latest tour, Punchlines, with a mission to find if a joke or story can still be funny if given the punchline beforehand. As the crowd milled into the venue several phrases popped up onto the screen at the back of the stage and all would become clear later in the show.

With the first half of the show being more of a traditional stand-up routine featuring a rapid fire collection of nifty one-liners and gags galore on topics ranging from monkeys on bikes, nuns in the bath, German shepherds and Buzz Aldrin being the first man on the moon. His subjects ranging from trips to Poundland, a nightmare holiday to Kavos and great tips on avoiding hoovering, aimed squarely at the men, the crowd were in stitches and clearly connected with his observations. Every now and then a little quip aimed at David Cameron received a cheeky giggle and a knowing smirk.

After the break Spikey talked of his favourite shop signs with Lino Ritchie being the best and led right into the theme of the show. As the jokes came thick and fast the on-screen punchlines made perfect sense. He proved his point to perfection: even knowing the endings to jokes made the audience laugh even harder. In many cases the joke was in the build-up rather than the punchline, but tales of tame alligators, trampolining husbands and tattooed bottoms were comedy gold in Spikey`s waggish hands.

The one-time haematologist and star of the classic Phoenix Nights was on top form and with a keen sense of observation and wry sense of humour the crowd laughed from start to finish.