It seems an odd setting to witness the Mighty Boosh’s latest foray into theatre; it’s perhaps more suited to holding James Morrison (or some other run of the mill act), rather than have a full frontal attack of psychedelic comedy streamed straight from another dimension, although I doubt anywhere in the world is suitably equipped to really handle the vastness and immensity of the Mighty Boosh. For those not in the know, the Mighty Boosh consists of electro fop Vince Noir and jazz nerd Howard Moon, two best friends, who-in the TV series- currently live in a vintage store in Shoreditch along with Naboo the shaman and Bollo, Naboos gorilla helper. All the characters are here tonight, including Tony Harrison, who is basically a pair of breasts with a face and tentacles, the hitcher, a green cockney with a polo for an eye (who’s partial to sexually assaulting marine mammals), the crack fox and, of course, the frankly brilliant Bob Fossil. For those unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the Boosh I’m afraid you’ll have to research deeper for yourself (and I recommend you do) as it would take all day to truly explain the wonder and magic within the Zooniverse.

This last year has seen the Boosh explode into the big time; from a small scale BBC3 comedy into a bona fide business empire, with their very own festival, book and an apparent movie in the woodworks. Noel Fielding and Julian Barrett (who play Vince and Howard) are officially celebrities now, with everyone from teen girls to middle aged men following the Boosh empires rise to global domination. With this newly found stardom, and with the popularity of their last live show, the boys have got a task ahead, in keeping the bar high, but tonight they certainly don’t disappoint, as after only 2 hours they have Portsmouth eating out of their hands, with most people, men included, swooning over Noel, who’s quite literally the coolest person ever, and so to the show.

A short introduction from Joey Moose, the crowd goes wild, enter stage left Vince Noir, in a gold sequined sailors top, standing at the helm of a massive futuristic ship, stage right, enter Howard Moon, wearing a village people style sailors suit, with a crappy blow up dingy around his waist and both break immediately into song, ‘Future sailors’. You can tell the characters haven’t changed a bit, after their grand entrance Vince and Howard go into their characteristic start of show conversation in front of the curtains, their comedic sharpness obviously hasn’t diminished one bit, even after the 50 something nights they’ve already done on this huge UK tour. Even incessant interruptions from idiot hecklers don’t put them off, as Noel (or rather Vince) simply humiliates the deluded person shouting from the balcony, and the crowd give a cheer of hate.

This tour is bigger than ever, with their very own live band backing them up on most of the songs adding a new power and rock ‘n rollness to their comedy. What with the props (that include a man size hairdryer, revolving centre stairs and the ‘alabaster retard’ moon), the many costume changes (at least six for Vince), the high production values and new live aspect, their show is colossal. Unlike the last tour the majority of this show is a mixture of double act stand up from Noel and Julian, guest appearances and songs from some of the other characters-the highlight of which for me is the crack fox’s appearance-and an interactive dance lesson from Bob Fossil, as we all learn to ‘lick the lips, then rub the nips’. The first half ends with a bang as the hitcher returns, with a particularly massive performance of ‘eels’.

As the Boosh returns for the second half Howard introduces his new play, a post apocalyptic look at Earth in the future, which is ruined by Vince, who has his own ideas of the future, a prog rock apocalypse with an especially stylish mutant race inhabiting the world. For the encore the whole crew take to the stage as zombie grannies, like a night out in a Blackpool Mecca bingo hall and prove their niche as the only real rock ‘n’ roll stars of comedy, by rocketing through some of their most loved songs, culminating in ‘Charlie’. Stand back Gallagher brothers, these lads really are rock ’n’ roll stars. At two and a half hours the show isn’t short either, and provides for the best night out I’ve had in ages.

Seeing the Mighty Boosh is an experience that everyone should have, a surreal trip through time and space. Buying a ticket not only entitles you to an evening of immense entertainment but it’s also a first class ticket to another dimension, via the psychedelic electro nebular, and around the Camden galaxy. Like Monty Python in the 60’s and the Young Ones in the 80’s, these guys are breaking the parameters of comedy itself. They’ve thrown out the rule book of the simple sketch show or sitcom and somehow stumbled upon the phenomenon that is ‘The Mighty Boosh’. Punk’s not dead; oddly, it’s simply reincarnated in a 35 year old he-she electro fop and an ageing ‘jazz Dalek’.