COMEDY | Previews
MAGIC / STAND-UP JERRY SADOWITZ King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 23 Sep; Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 30 Sep
The debate over offensive comedy might feel as though it’s been raging forever, but one person stands way out on the extreme fringes of that discussion. From quips about the then imprisoned Nelson Mandela (‘a cunt’) to the entire Canadian population (‘moosefuckers’) and the missing Madeleine McCann (no, we’re not printing any of that stuff here, sorry), Jerry Sadowitz has pulled not a single punch in his decades of stand-up gore. As if to soften the outrage for those meek-mannered liberals among us, the oft-repeated
suggestion is made that there’s no greater target for his material than himself. Certainly, in interviews and onstage, Sadowitz emanates a deep self-loathing and appears brimful of regrets; in a 2011 Guardian interview he bemoaned his ‘completely wasted life’. His ire is particularly aimed at those he views as pretenders (Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais and Frankie Boyle are continually namechecked in this regard) who have nabbed all the glory and recognition that should rightfully have been his. But he does have one skill that none of the above can wield: the ability to throw an amazing sleight-of-hand card trick into the mix, almost as a means of temporarily leavening the unfiltered degradation of his routines. There’s no doubt that Sadowitz is one of the most talented comics of his generation (everyone from Janey Godley to Richard Herring have touted him as an influence). But you have to wonder just how far he might have gone had he been more inclined to play the game. In an age when stand-up and the internet have gone stratospheric in terms of both quality and quantity, Jerry Sadowitz remains comedy’s version of the dark web. (Brian Donaldson)
LIVE PODCAST THE ELIS JAMES AND JOHN ROBINS EXPERIENCE The Stand, Edinburgh, Sun 9 Oct; The Stand, Glasgow, Mon 10 Oct
Given that Elis James and John Robins both predominantly work live, it’s little surprise that their Radio X show and podcast would escape the studio to go rampaging across the country. James recalls how it came about: ‘We did a live reading in London of A Robins Amongst the Pigeons, the autobiography John wrote as a feature for the show. We’d only advertised through the podcast so the gig sold out solely to fans of the radio show.’
They only did a few shows but then decided to tour properly in the autumn. James insists that he’s very much looking forward to hitting the road, and no wonder: as anyone who regularly tunes in to their bromance will testify, James likes nothing more than spending time with Robins. ‘I love improvising with John, he is the funniest person I know,’ he states fondly. ‘We haven’t had an argument in almost three years of doing the show, largely because he is usually right and I don’t mind that.’
There’s plenty to expect, perhaps a #keepitsession ale, a few obscure ‘Sacred Cows’, textual healing live, and possibly a new chapter of A Robins Amongst the Pigeons. But James’ favourite section of the radio show is when the listeners get involved. ‘One of us made a lighthearted remark that you can guess a person’s political persuasion by what they put on their chips. Within minutes we had hundreds of texts from people saying things like “BROWN SAUCE, SALT BUT NO VINEGAR: UKIP!” I love the immediacy of radio.’ And taking their double act into live spaces guarantees even more amusing interaction. (Marissa Burgess)
LOCAL LAUGHS GARETH MUTCH ANOTHER UP AND COMER HAS A GO AT OUR Q&A
Can you tell us about the moment when you thought: ‘stand-up is for me’? I’m an only child so I’ve always been a bit of an attention seeker. I found drama at a young age but didn’t like sharing the stage with the other kids so when I was 17 I did my first stand-up gig and remember loving the bareness of it all: no costume, nobody else just me and a mic, and people laughed. Do you have any pre-show rituals you can tell us about? There’s nothing right before I go onstage, but I do have one weird thing in that I’ll listen to ‘Ooh La La’ by the Faces. I have no idea when it started; I just realised a few years ago that I often listened to that song before a gig so it stuck and became a weird thing.
laughed at all types of jokes. I always s remember a quote by Ricky Gervais about offensive comedy: ‘offence is taken not given’. There are a lot of comedians being asked to apologise for jokes just now which I think is ridiculous. Often the person demanding the apology wasn't even there: they just heard about it. What’s the one thing you remember about your very first gig? I remember talking about kayaks and canoes. Bad. I also spoke about wetting the bed until I was 14 or 15 which was good because that was when I realised that comedy should come from a real place and sharing those horrifically real stories could be a positive thing.
Where do you draw the line when it comes to ‘offensive comedy’? I’m not an ‘offensive comedian’, far from it, but I see no need to draw the line at anything if it’s funny. I have ■ Gareth Mutch is at The Stand, Glasgow, Thu 1–Sat 3 Sep, Sun 16 Oct; The Stand, Edinburgh, Sun 11, Mon 26 Sep, Tue 4 Oct. See more of this Q&A at list. co.uk/comedy
50 THE LIST 1 Sep–3 Nov 2016