The Daily Telegraph from London, Greater London, England • 146

6 arts Man in the middle: Nicholas Burns, third from right, in BBC3's new sketch show 'Little Britain? That's not us' Nicholas Burns has starred in the year's best new funny TV. Bernadette McNulty met him LONDON SEASON ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY ERA COMEDIES TREAT YOUR FAMILY THIS CHRISTMAS UP TO 4 UNDER 18s HALF PRICE WITH FULL PRICE TICKET 8 -31 DECEMBER 05 TWELFTH NIGHT WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 'THEATRICAL THE SPECTATOR THE ARE TIMES NOVELLO THEATRE 0870 950 0940 BKG FEE. FAMILY RATE VALID FOR Aldwych, London WC2B 4LD MON-FRI PERFS ALL MATINEES. A DELFONT MACKINTOSH THEATRE NOT VALID DURING PREVIEWS. cou, accenture www.rsc.org.uk arts.telegraph.co.uk Saturday, December 3, 2005 Hoxton generation.

"There are similarities in that David Brent and Nathan are all about image. Brent tries to give out this image of being a boss that everyone loves and who is really chilled out, and Nathan is trying to give out an image of being incredibly cool and edge. But they are both trying to cover up that they are insecure, fragile people." The very likeable and easy-going Burns, 28, who was born in Derbyshire and trained at Lamda, has just finished appearing as yet another difficult character, Claudius in Much Ado About Nothing at the Sheffield Crucible. "He's pretty cruel and behaves very badly. But unattractive characters are definitely more interesting to play." 'Man Stroke Woman' is currently showing on BBC3; next episode tonight at 11.10pm.

THE ROYAL OPERA THE BARTERED BRIDE Bedrich Smetana 'A TOTAL DELIGHT' WHAT'S ON ROYAL OPERA HOUSE 6 9 12 17 20 January at 7.30pm 14 January at 12.30pm BOOK For cast details and to book online: ONLINE NOW www.roh.org.uk Box Office 020 7304 4000 Mon -Sat 10am-8pm Photograph: Catherine Ashmore TE Man Stroke Woman you didn't recognise Nicholas Burns's face at the of the year, you may well do by the end. He first cropped up this spring in the title role of Nathan Barley, Channel 4's satire of fashionable east London, vritten by Chris Morris. Since then he has notched up appearances in almost every comedy of the year: Absolute Power, Nighty Night, The Mighty Boosh. In fact, the only thing he needs for a full house of hot comedy shows is a walk-on part in Little Britain, but his latest role in BBC3's new sketch show, Man Stroke Woman, sees him swimming in the opposite direction. "Man Stroke Woman is the antithesis of Little says Burns.

"As a sketch show, Little Britain is really stylised and is all about defined characters, men playing women, and wigs and stuff. We wanted to do something more naturalistic, so if you'd just flicked over by accident you might just think you were watching a funny drama." Man Stroke Woman follows a rash of sketch shows and comedies that focus on the lives and loves of twenty- and thirtysomethings, but manages to distinguish itself RAYMOND FRANCESCA ZAMBELLO'S STUNNING PRODUCTION PUCC BOHEME "A VISUAL COUP" "SPECTACULAR" STAGED IN THE ROUND SUNG IN ENGLISH 23 Feb 11 Mar 2006 ATRA SHOWS NOW ROYAL ALBERT HALL 020 7838 3100 See 0870 890 0504 www.bohen ule RG) particularly from Charlie Brooker's Spoons, on Channel 4 by being as interested in characters as it is in gags. Coming from Office producer Ash Atalla and also starring Nick Frost from Shaun of the Dead, Daisy Haggard from Green Wing and Amanda Abington from Teachers, Man Stroke Woman is blessed with genuine comic sparkle. "I didn't know what to expect," says Burns, "although I thought it might strike a chord with people who are in and out of relationships. The idea was to make the characters as much like us as possible, based around our own voices and looks." The reception for Nathan Barley was less than glowing, but Burns stood out by making his lead character, a nightmare urban trendy, perversely attractive.

"A lot of people have said I made Nathan Barley likeable, which I was quite surprised at. I didn't set out to do that. But watching it back, you can see that at least he has some kind of positive energy. He's a coward, he's tactless, he's shallow but he makes you smile. I didn't want to make him totally evil." Some people have described Barley as a David Brent for the.