A reading by poet Roger McGough could - and should - have been an enjoyable experience. The author of more than 50 books for adults and children, who partied with the great and the good of 1960s pop culture and was once described as "the patron saint of poetry", has something of a reputation to live up to. But standing on stage at the peculiar time of 5pm on a Friday evening, he looked uncomfortable and as though he were there under duress. Perhaps his publisher had forced him to do the gig - part of a tour to promote his autobiography, Said and Done (Century, £17.99). Perhaps it was more a case of being a poet and not a performer. Either way, he gave the distinct impression he would rather be somewhere else.

Many of the poems were excellent - particularly those of a less whimsical, tongue-in-cheek nature, on topics such as Alzheimers and the pleasures and pains of raising children. The readings from Said and Done were also entertaining, one giving an amusing insight into the poet as a gauche young man drunk and out of his depth on a television chat show, dually paralysed by a desperate need to use the toilet and a total lack of anything to say.

Still, if you go to see a live show, it is reasonable to expect more than you could get from listening to a CD and McGough failed to deliver on that front. He introduced the poem, read it, then began the next anecdote with the air of someone with a job to do. Guitar accompaniment by his former Grimms' bandmate Andy Roberts didn't seem to serve any purpose either, other than giving the nervous-looking McGough some on-stage support.

Perhaps it would have been better suited to a more intimate venue; framed in the set of Crime Passionnel, another performance of which followed the reading, the two men looked dwarfed and the music sounded insufficient. Still, it seemed to have achieved its purpose - after the show finished, the audience swooped vulture-like to buy McGough's books.