[COMEDY ~ UK]
Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Sun 12 Feb, 2023
Comedy giant Jimmy Carr is famous off the telly. He is the snarky host of 8 Out Of 10 Cats (and 8 Out 10 Cats Does Countdown), Big Fat Quiz and a regular guest on countless UK TV shows. But he is also a very talented stand-up comedian who packs arenas all over the UK and has toured extensively through Europe and the USA. On the box he is a bit naughty, saying slightly inappropriate things, with a sly smile and the limitations of TV companies, etc. He comes across as a cheeky chap. Bit risqué, making fun of his own cosmetic surgery and tax dodging case. But in the live arena things get quite different.
His trademarks are his high-pitched laugh and stomping all over politically correct topics while embracing the “it’s only a joke” edict that many people embrace as a ‘get out of bad behaviour free card’ in order to do material that could be considered offensive. The website to buy tickets even had a disclaimer saying: Jimmy’s show contains jokes about all kinds of terrible things. Terrible things that might have affected you or people you know and love. But they are just jokes – they are not the terrible things. Having political correctness at a comedy show is like having health and safety at a rodeo. Now you’ve been warned, buy a ticket.’.
In theory this makes it your choice, it’s on you, you knew and you still went. It’s a neat way of Jimmy wiping his hands of responsibility for his ‘I’ll say what I want and I don’t give a fuck’ position. And why would he. Sold out Adelaide Entertainment Centre (10,000 people at $100 a head) and he returns in April for five sold out shows at Thebarton Theatre (5 x 2,000) that’s 20,000 people in Adelaide a box office of two million bucks. The story is the same all over the country he is doing shows for two months. So, y’know, market forces. Obviously, many, many, people are responding to his material and are happy to pay.
Full disclosure: I paid for my own ticket months ago. Incidentally they do have Health and Safety requirements at any rodeo.
The conflict for me is that Carr is a technically exceptional comedian. He has great stage presence, is great with crowd work, quick-witted, acid-tongued, super-slick delivery, and fantastic at delivering rapid fire one liners – a skill somewhat lost on the modern comic in the quest for the long narrative, satire and emotional impact. He is a ninth dan, black belt, ninja Mr Miyagi level sensei of all these skills. But, in many ways, it’s like seeing Michelangelo just paint giant cock and balls all over the Sistine Chapel ceiling. He has all the brushes and paints and talent at his disposal, but cocks and balls are making him the mucho dollaroos. So, if you’d bought a ticket to see that nice, cheeky Chappy of the telly, it’s entirely possible you wouldn’t have been prepared for somebody in 2023 dropping terms like ‘spastic’ and ‘faggot’ and the avalanche of jokes about rape, glory holes, domestic violence, trans people, non-binary folks, and endless jokes about paedophiles (including several with him as the predatory protagonist). I say endless, and perhaps that should read ‘constant’. Because after all, what is more hilarious the molestation of defenceless children? It’s just a joke after all.
I think I was more shocked at the general tone of the set. It from start to finish seemed like it could have been from a different time. Specifically, the 1970’s. Bernard Manning could have done most of this stuff in the working men’s clubs in 1974. Casual racism, sexism, various phobias. But it’s only a joke. And you paid for it. So…it’s not MY fault.
All these horrendously offensive gags are well written, expertly delivered by a master of the craft. And the audience is lapping it up. Part of the problem is when a comedian does this kind of material is a lot of the audience they attract are not laughing at the subject matter ironically, but using it as using to re-enforce their own shitty beliefs. “What do you think? Should there be Gender Neutral toilets?” asks Jimmy at one point. Three people directly behind me start enthusiastically screaming “NNNNNOOOOO!!!!”. They don’t think it’s funny. They are just enjoying somebody attacking the same thing they are probably attacking themselves on the regular.
There are some great pieces, good local references (you can’t go wrong with picking on Elizabeth). His dealing with hecklers is legendary but often adds up to ‘I f*cked your mum’ or basically ‘f*ck off’.
There was some advice for a 15-year-old about relationships. So – horrendous and offensive material (as advertised, I guess) beautifully delivered by a top-shelf master comedian. But one that could do so much better without going so far down the gutter for the nasty laugh.
2.5 stars
Ian Bell
