Amnesty’s Ball ache - except for Izzard

Since its inception in 1979, The Secret Policeman's Ball, the annual comedy fund-raising event held by Amnesty International, has proved a tremendous hit with performances by the likes of Peter Cook and John Cleese. However, Sunday night’s show at the Royal Albert Hall fell short, according to critics. "What a great bill! What a fabulous cause! What a bloomin' relief when it all finally ended," writes Dominic Maxwell in the Times. "If that seems an uncharitable verdict … that's more a reflection on the length of the show and the preponderance of stand-up than it is on the quality of the acts."

Adds Maxwell: "The 90-minute televised version [to be broadcast on Monday night on Channel 4], unseen at time of writing, should obliterate most of these reservations. Act by act, this was the strongest ball that Amnesty has thrown. But somehow, in slicking it up and cutting out the awkward bits, a bit of the event's soul got lost as well.”

Tom Horan in the Daily Telegraph concurs. "In many ways, the Ball draws on the best qualities of the British character: a sense of humour and a sense of what is just. But what struck me this year was how seldom the two now come together. The anti-establishment edge that defined the inaugural events of the late Seventies has vanished. For the most part this was a night of cosy ‘isn't-it-funny-hows’ and ribald gags. Of satirical, political or confrontational humour there was barely a trace.”

Horan goes on: "I guess a society gets the comedians it deserves. To wit, in the first half, Frank Skinner, Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross - all three as well known for their staggering contracts with the BBC as for the polish with which they reflect back at the British public its own fascination with smut, celebrity and the banal."

However, one comic did receive praise - Eddie Izzard (pictured). Maxwell writes: "His unique performance style is all about pulling together the wildly incongruous and creating something rich and intelligent that leaves a warm feeling. This curious night needed just that, and Britain's finest comedian delivered it with his usual effortless panache."