Ricky Gervais left his audience thirsty for more after banning them from having ice in their drinks.
The comic reckons the clinking of the cubes in people’s glasses interrupts the flow of his stand-up shows.
The ban was in force as Ricky, 61, tested out gags at London’s Leicester Square Theatre in preparation for taking his new show on the road.
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The Office star, who is said to have another Netflix special in the works, drew grumbles from fans with his quirky ban. One theatregoer was told by staff: “I’m sorry, we can’t serve ice in any of our drinks, Ricky has told us not to. He says he doesn’t like the noise.”
An audience member joked: “He’s a perfectionist, but he needs to chill out.”
In one of the shows, the sharp-tongued comic turned on someone he spotted nibbling a snack in his seat, snapping: “Didn’t have your dinner?”
Turning to the audience, he roared: “He’s having a f***ing picnic!” Ricky has already hit the headlines for recruiting his own team of bodyguards for the shows after fellow comedian Dave Chappelle and author Salman Rushdie were both attacked on stage.
The After Life creator bolstered his security detail to protect him while he tests new material at the Soho theatre – which is so small that members of the audience sit just a few feet away from the performers.
Ricky, who lives with partner Jane Fallon, 61, in Hampstead, North West London, revealed he still has 20 minutes of material to finalise and has added an extra date tomorrow.
He said on Twitter: “After about 40 new material nights, I have about 45 minutes I’m really happy with.
“Need at least another 20 before I start putting full price gigs on sale.”
Hopefully he’ll figure out why the audience may have been lukewarm…
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