Over the past four years Josh Widdicombe has gathered various awards and earned support slots with the country’s most acclaimed comedy performers. After attending his début tour as it was welcomed to Oxford’s Glee Club, I can confidently foresee further success for the country lad. Television appearances of his that I have seen let me to the same conclusion.

The opening act, Suzi Ruffell, however, caught me off-guard. Her self-critiquing begins immediately with details of her current single status and her inability to not to resort to binge-drinking. Suzi fantastically assumes the odd-one-out role as she recounts school days of denying a homosexuality seemingly apparent to bullies and failing to identify fellow lesbians in contemporary society. Equally strong is her physical comedy, be it staggering drunks or aqua-aerobics. Ruffell represents a type of comic I would like to see more of; consistently open, intimate and hilarious.

Our main act begins his set with a more spontaneous, crowd-inclusive approach, humbly jesting at lads in the front-row and securing some witty tangents. In a similar style to that of Rhod Gilbert, Widdicombe identifies and tests tedious conceptions he inadvertently encounters in everyday life. These include grossly over-sized stationery from gift shops and being asked if he was aware the local Co-op now offered legal advice, to which he responds: “No, I was just chuffed they did Sugar Puffs.” The club is set into hysterics as he recounts family holidays on a narrowboat — highlighting the impracticalities of co-existing on such a suitably named vessel.

An appealing quality in the Devonshire comic is that he is slightly circumspect in his performance. While demonstrating a quick wit and sound material, he shows a reluctance to be eccentric or push the scenarios and images of his routine into the ridiculous. Given his undeniable talent and capacity to turn simple to funny, I expect to see Josh Widdicombe become a major name in British comedy.