Bob Doolally
at The Stand Comedy Club (Venue 5), Edinburgh

Geoff Kidder

Dubbed the football pundit from hell, Bob Doolally is a drunken ex-football star.

He now does the club circuit, reminiscing about his glory days and giving observations on the current state of football in Scotland and beyond. His offensive style leaves no stone unturned, from the Queen Mother ('doesn't look a day over 99 and sadly alive') to recently deceased Scottish international Billy Bremner ('a cunt'). Knocking back the drinks, Doolally tells us his life story, from being sexually abused as an apprentice at Preston, 'the Manchester United of their day', through his failed marriages, including Ann Widdecombe ('she was gorgeous then, sucked like a hoover'), to his current hatred for the Huns (Glasgow Rangers) because they win everything.

The spitting image of Malcolm MacDonald, Doolally has great wit; his impromptu responses to the audience are masterful and his caustic style will offend many. His problem is Scottish football. Only two teams worth mentioning and a few jokes about Cowdenbeath (Blue Brazil). When asked if Scotland would ever win the World Cup, somebody shouted out '1967' (when Scotland defeated England, the then World champions, at Wembley), and the audience cheered and roared. I thought it was bad being an England fan these days but this was truly pathetic.

Doolally fills out his act with sketches on George Best, Kevin Keegan and attacks on the monarchy - all comedy of a high standard, interspersed with his catchphrase, 'fucking brilliant'. This was a highly entertaining show, rounded off by the appearance of Sir Warwick Hunt who declared: 'football is the theatre of the working classes, theatre is the football of the poof classes.'