SEAN Lock brought his unique blend of surreal and observational comedy to Ipswich’s Regent Theatre last night and reminded the audience why he deserves his place in the top bracket of the current touring comedians.

The 8 Out of Ten Cats and QI panellist was in town as part of his Purple Van Man tour and was working hard from the opening moments to glean as many laughs as possible from his meandering set.

Only a few dates into the epic tour, which ends in September, the Woking-born comic seemed to still be testing out some of the material but only a few moments failed to strike a chord with the eager crowd.

Sections on the perils of being a backwards-facing centuar, how his relationship with alcohol corresponds with a moth’s obsession with a light bulb and observations on Margaret Thatcher’s death all hit the mark during the two-hour show.

He also wondered about his Twitter identity thief (was it an octogenarian from Dundee?) and vented about the price of cinema confectionery in typical fashion.

Mixing whimsy and punch with equal measure, the time flew by all too quickly and he left to a rapturous round of applause after an encore featuring some quick-witted interaction with the audience.

While his declarations of love for Ipswich were intentionally unconvincing, those at the Regent will nevertheless welcome him back next time he is Suffolk.