Steve Coogan: Stand Up Down Under

As Alan Partridge fever sweeps the nation with the release of eagerly awaited movie Alpha Papa tomorrow, here's a chance to fill your boots with its creator Steve Coogan. This two-part documentary follows him on tour in Australia and New Zealand and he's as funny and downright contrary as his reputation would lead you to expect, high-tailing it into the middle of nowhere when the pressure of playing up to expectations starts to do his head in. And the clips of his stand-up act, as acerbic as ever, are a reminder that Partridge is only part of the act.

While not quite warts-and-all, this two-part film does give riveting glimpses of the man behind Alan Partridge. Cameras pick up Coogan's insecurities and irritations on his 2009 tour of Australia and New Zealand. So what does ruffle the comedy iconoclast? Well, a bright spotlight, a duff wig and a slipped microphone do the trick. And there's a breaking point when he has to get right away from people, driving 400 miles in a rental car (not unlike the kind of thing Partridge would do). A consummate businessman, Coogan is also a skilled performer, and the on-stage clips do him jubilant justice.

It's back to basics for Coogan as he and a skeleton crew tour a series of medium-sized venues in Australia and New Zealand, showcasing Paul and Pauline Calf, Tony Ferrino and Alan Partridge. It was Coogan's idea, but he occasionally betrays Partridgian tetchiness at the privations he must undergo: "soul-sucking" venues, lousy hotels and problems with seating arrangements. He's game, though, and you feel he's very much pushing at an open door with the Aussie audiences. Continues Wednesday.

Steve Coogan jokingly refers to these shows as a '90s revival tour'. But this 2009 trip to Australia is a little more than that. Weirdly, Coogan has never played in Oz before so the trip is something of a punt, taking in reasonably small venues and offering a surprising sense of lo-fi make do and mend.

Have catchphrase, will travel, though. It's not long before autograph hunters are exhorting him to 'enjoy Linton travel tavern' and asking for 'Cock Piss Partridge' to be written on their programmes. It's an intimate portrait, but Coogan still seems somewhat unknowable: simultaneously needy and oddly distant. The film concludes tomorrow night with hecklers and a spot of disillusion. Not essential but, with Alpha Papa fever rampant, perfectly timed.

Laughter time! In Steve Coogan: Stand Up Down Under, the comedian takes his one-man show through Australia and New Zealand, while grumbling backstage about faulty microphones and the tedium of touring. And that's about it. While it's certainly interesting witnessing Coogan as himself, the repetitive nature of this self-produced documentary tends to wear thin.

Steve Coogan: Stand Up Down Under preview

Even though we only get to see short clips of Steve's performances, it is clear how masterfully he has perfected his characters, as well as overall act.