Howard Marks is Mr. Nice

Structured loosely around tales drawn from the autobiography Mr Nice, this show allows Howard Marks to combine elements of straightforward storytelling with innovative poetry readings and perceptive philosophical speculations. Drawing upon well documented tales of drug-smuggling and prison life, the former most wanted man in Britain is an engaging, charming host, able to intersperse what seems like a lived-in narrative with spontaneous, ramshackle detours. These moments tease with their instability, as experimental dabblings in verse release Marks from the framework of the crime stories.

The focus on cannabis material does create something of a bind. Judging by the enthusiastic reactions of tonight's audience, they are the bread and butter of the show; but a sense pervades that, if Marks were allowed to rid himself of the drug straitjacket and step outside of his self-imposed limits, something even more fascinating would result. Tonight's segments on the ethics of the smoking ban, the tedium of bookshop readings and Manic Street Preacher Richey Edwards possess intellectual interest and comedic sophistication, subtly suggesting that Marks may yet be able to vary notions of what is expected of him.