MICF: Spit & Polish

Dave Thornton’s Spit & Polish doesn’t need any elbow grease, despite what the name might suggest; it’s already a lively and entertaining little gem of a show with plenty of appeal.

As one half of Fox FM’s Fifi and Dave, it’s a nice change to see Thornton outside of the commercial realm of breakfast radio and back to his roots as a stand-up comic.

Thornton sources material from his everyday, like his recent travels to South America, seeing The Lion King musical and waking up at 4:30 in the morning. He’s anecdotal musings are all crowd pleasers; however, his biggest laughs come from his ad-libs – particularly when taking cues from his audience and making himself laugh in the process. The five 15-year-old private-school boys in the front row copped more than a comparison or two to One Direction, with Thornton throwing back to them throughout the course of the show.

He touches on a more personal side when he recalls past break ups and moving in with his current girlfriend, and these work to less effect than his earlier material.

Overall though, Thornton is a charismatic and engaging narrator who bounces around on stage with such enthusiasm that it’s impossible to not warm to him.