One Touch Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness, 27 August 2008

Jim Jeffries

WHEN Jim Jeffries swaggers on to the stage you know what you are going to get. This uncompromising Aussie comic exudes an air of comfortable anarchy. His obvious command of the audience is reminiscent of the chilling authority of Hicks, while the wicked twinkle in his eye reminded me of Jack Nicholson as R P McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Right from the outset Jeffries launches into a style of humour that is grounded in graphic references to his sex life and depictions of his own genitalia and that of the many women in his life. This, coupled with his celebration of alcohol and drug abuse, lets you know, pretty well from the off, what you are in for.

If you have come looking for the surreal comedic ramblings of an Eddie Izzard or the fantastic flights of improvised imagination of a Ross Noble you are going to be disappointed. If, however, your sense of humour is more comfortable on a toilet wall or late at night in the local rugby club, sit down, relax, you’re in the right place.

During the first half of the show the near capacity audience clearly enjoyed Jeffries’ crude but effective humour. Despite the graphic nature of his material Jeffries’ comedy is well honed and, in places, acutely observed. His stories are well crafted and he is much more than one of the many comedians in his genre who simply rely on shock tactics to get them through the gig.

The delivery and timing of his material was, at least in the first half of the set, razor sharp. I didn’t expect to enjoy Jeffries, anticipating a kind of Aussie Roy Chubby Brown, but what I got was way better than that and the first half of the show was fast paced, well delivered, very funny and great entertainment.

Timing is everything in comedy, or so they say, and that certainly seemed to be the case here. Jeffries was clearly uncomfortable with an interval, being more used to the fifty-minute non-stop structure of the Fringe, where he has performed to much acclaim.

When he came back from his twenty minute break things had changed, the audience had been topping up their alcohol levels and, as far as I could see, so had Mr Jeffries. For whatever reason, the pace of the first half of the set had been lost. He got more heckles and allowed these to drag him off into rambling conversations that contained little humour.

Eventually Jeffries over-stayed his welcome with the audience, becoming like a dinner guest who, hugely entertaining over the first two courses, had become a bit of a bore by the time dessert was served. The latter part of his set showed a surprising degree of self indulgence from a comedian of his experience and, by the end of it, Eden Court staff were flashing the stage lights to get him to come off as he went seriously over time. For a comedian like Jeffries an interval can be a graveyard. The show would have been far better if it had run straight through and maintained its momentum.

Despite my criticism of the second half of the gig, overall the show was very enjoyable. Towards the end Jeffries’ asked the audience how many stars they would have given him. From my perspective, at the end of the first half he had given a five star performance, but by the close of the second half he’d let one star slip through his fingers and was left with four.

Despite his fumbling, Jeffries’ is well worth seeing and is an extremely witty and accomplished performer. I’ve no doubt he’ll adapt to the pitfalls of an interval very quickly and will soon have that lost star safely back in his pocket.

© John Burns, 2008

Links

• Jim Jeffries
• Eden Court Theatre
• John Burns at Purple Comedy