Reviewed by Sarah

On Sunday evening I went to The Grove in Hammersmith for a preview of Mark Watson's new show 'Do I Know You?'. The gig was in a small room above the bar (seating about 40 people). There is a regular Sunday night gig at The Grove organised by Corry Shaw of Foolhardy Comedy and I would certainly recommend you check out the upcoming Edinburgh previews and future line-ups.

I have seen Mark in many of his various television appearances (including a recording of We Need Answers), and of course experienced his expert hosting of last year's 24 Hour Show in Edinburgh, however I had never seen him do stand-up until Sunday. 

For a preview, the hour long show was remarkably coherent and well structured. The title of the show 'Do I Know You?' refers to Mark's current state of being recognisable from his TV panel show (and advert) appearances but only to a certain audience, and the problems this brings in his day to day life, when he is never sure if people recognise him from the TV or just think they actually have met him before. There are some pretty personal moments, about the life of surely one of the hardest working performers in comedy in the show, but this works well with Mark's self-depreciating style and delivery. 

It was a thoroughly enjoyable and very funny hour and I'm very much forward to seeing the finished show in Edinburgh (and probably again when it comes to Dunfermline as part of Mark's national tour in the autumn and into 2011). It's always interesting to see a show develop, although as I said the show is certainly well on the way to being fully formed. The only real evidence that this was a preview was that Mark seemed to have so much material he wanted to fit in he was talking at break-neck speed (something he commented on himself at one point) and there were a few moments where it was a struggle to keep up with his speeding brain, and tongue.

It always feels a bit special to see comedians in such intimate venues - as Mark mentioned on the night, he'll be doing the same show just down the road at the 3600 seat Hammersmith Apollo in December, and I really hope Mr Watson gets the audiences he clearly deserves.