'In this way I shall preserve many things that would otherwise be lost in oblivion. I shall find daily employment for myself, which will save me from indolence and help to keep off the spleen, and I shall lay up a store of entertainment for my after life.'

For James Boswell posts please follow the labels on the right.

This blog mainly contains reviews from the Edinburgh Festivals from 2008 to 2010 which I wrote for the Edinburgh Festivals Magazine. These reviews cover everything from comedy to contemporary dance; children's theatre to Handel.


Tuesday 25 October 2011

Jim Jeffries: Alcoholocaust Review

Jim Jeffries: Alcoholocaust

Jim Jefferies is the Big Game act charging through the jungle of comedians who aggressively provoke, poke, and prod. Except he doesn’t charge, he ambles in with a pint in his hand. Nevertheless he doesn’t disappoint, and wastes little time in laying out his personal spectrum of anger inducing subjects. His timing and delivery are masterful and Jefferies has the audience in the palm of his hand within the first few minutes. 

Standing out sometimes involves being offensive and pissing people off, and Jefferies does this well. He could be criticised for losing (female) chunks of his audience by Instantly Getting to the F**king Point but subtlety is not beyond the Australian. At one point when a gag about God fails to raise the expected laugh he quickly highlights the hypocrisy in stifling a laugh about the Lord but lapping up the material on lesbians and the disabled. There remains an undeniable appeal in hideously tasteless humour and Jefferies does not hold back in his stories of guide dogs and their uses.

There is also a commendably frank and honest telling of a personal tale from Australia which includes prostitution, muscular dystrophy and a smattering of cocaine.

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