He describes himself as a “national trinket” but to the crowd at Norwich’s Theatre Royal I’m sure treasure would be a more accurate label for Julian Clary.
With a steady and reliable stream of double entendres and tales about his triumphant time in the Big Brother House, Clary kept the audience in laughs and whoops.
Clary has honed his act over three decades and this wasn’t the time for surprises, although Julian did give us one: a proposal live on stage from audience member Samantha to her partner Bonny.
The show itself was about Clary’s own search for a partner, with eight theatregoers plucked from the stalls to audition for the chance to be Mrs Julian Clary. With varying degrees of reluctance the sort-of suitors answered questions and performed tasks to try to win their hosts heart.
There was also a starring role for the Norwich Evening News (alongside an audience member who managed to chug down half a bottle of Blue Nun) as Clary attempted to find out what life in Norfolk with his new beau might be like.
This was a show for the loyalists: no one would have come away changed in their opinion of Julian Clary, but few would have gone expecting anything different.
