SOUTHERN kicked off his show with jokes about the size of the room (he performs in the Carpet Room off the side of the Forum).

And, yes, it is small. Bloody small. Bathroom-type small.

As the title suggests, his stand-up act rambles loosely across subjects and his smooth, relaxed style is a joy. He feeds off the audience and his machinegun comebacks to crowd banter are bang-on.

People who don’t like sitting too close to the comedian for fear of being singled out, be warned. There are no seats that aren’t close to the stage.

But Southern is a gentle comic and his few digs at audience members were light-hearted. The butt of most of his jokes is himself.