Reviewed by Peter Dilley

It sounds like an attempt to emulate ITV's popular song and chat formula (without the celebrity appearances), and basically that's what you get. No bad thing: Jonathan Veira is as witty and entertaining as many an A-list star - deliberately or otherwise. At the start, Jonathan trips on the stage steps during his "grand entrance", so the one-man show can only get better from there on. It's full of self-deprecating humour, with plenty of hilarious exchanges with the audience. Jonathan is best known as an operatic bass-baritone, but his set list also includes songs from his youth: so besides Donizetti and Gershwin, he sings "Desperado" by the Eagles, Elton John's "Your Song", Billy Joel's "Piano Man", and a medley of country and western song excerpts. A jazz rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" showcases his talents as a pianist. He does have a more serious side, which comes through particularly in his testimony introducing "King Of Kings, Majesty", but also in "Child" (about the AIDS epidemic), and the prayerful "God Of The Moon And Stars", both fruits of his recent album project with Paul Field. Watch the DVD, and I'm sure you'll want to see Jonathan's show live.

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