Ricky Gervais, Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham - review

On the second night of his two Barclaycard Arena dates, the Reading-born star had fans in fits of laughter throughout his show which covered everything from Caitlyn Jenner, to dog breeds, Twitter trolls and serial killers.

As the 56-year-old comedian stepped out on stage, the huge crowd erupted with cheers, whistles and applause.

“Oh wow, thanks very much Birmingham - just for that, I’ll try extra hard tonight,” smirked the star.

“I’m not sure why I called my tour Humanity - I’m not a big fan to be honest, I prefer dogs.”

Ricky’s presented The Golden Globe Awards a few times - and each time has been as contentious and headline-grabbing as the last.

And he loves it; the power a presenter gets from standing on stage surrounded with celebrities with fear in their eyes (as he put it), is a thrill. And the crowd certainly got a kick out of his series of witty anecdotes about the awards - and the ribbing he gave to stars such as Bill Cosby, Helen Mirren and Melissa McCarthy.

This topic also led to a series of gags about Caitlyn Jenner, after Ricky famously ‘dead named’ the transgender star at last year’s awards. Considering the ability of people to have ‘gender realignment’’, Ricky says he considers himself a chimp - and intends to have a ‘species realignment’; adding that we as humans are actually closer to the chimp, than the chimp is to the gorilla. He wouldn’t have to change a great deal either, he quipped.

Another thing Ricky is best known for is his love for dogs - and this passion led to what I considered the highlight of the evening: looking back at an imaginary time when dogs were allocated their ‘jobs’. His impression of a Labrador eagerly being given the job of retrieving dead rabbits and the Jack Russell of chasing rats down holes was simply hilarious.

Even funnier still was his impression of the Rhodesian Ridgeback being told he was expected to hunt lions…

Ricky then took a look at the modern world, stating that things nowadays are so much worse than they used to be - even when it comes to terrorists, peadophiles and serial killers.

“With ISIS, there’s just no talking to them,” he said.

“At least with the IRA you’d get a phone call when they’d put a bomb in a pub.”

He also claimed paedophiles used to be easily recognisable - and not own giraffes, tonnes of money and a Neverland ranch which which to lure them…

Though his show was hilarious from start to end, Ricky also included a serious note at a later point in the set - and one I truly had no idea went on. As a result, I feel I must mention it.

We all know there are parts of Asia where dogs are eaten - thousands, in fact, over just a few days for the annual Lychee and Dog Meat Festival (known at the Yulin Festival) in China.

What I was unaware of, however, is the fact the animals are tortured to death - sometimes even skinned alive. In the middle of the street no less.

If you want to get involved, there’s a petition campaigning to stop the eating of dog and cat meat at next year’s festival here.

A hilarious evening, with important undertones - and (after discussing his brother’s pranks at their mother’s funeral) a reminder that, even in the darkest of times, fun can be found if you look hard enough.