A Great Hour Of Comedy
Anthony Jeselnik is not just a funny comic, he’s a clever one too. I’ve said it before that the key components of a joke consist of a story and killer punchline and Anthony delivers both of these things effortlessly. After a flurry of early jokes, Anthony anchors his quick-fire comedy into three or four key subjects. Beginning with some relationship-themed jokes, Anthony goes on to discuss dropping babies and his vocal dislike of children, through to racism, religion and finally one long segment involving his friend getting an abortion. When it comes to comic material, no subject is really off-limits for this American. What’s particularly great about Jeselnik, and the reason I’d class him higher than Jimmy Carr in terms of one-liner comedy, comes from his jokes not just hanging on the shock or crudeness of the material. The pauses between each joke are awkwardly long, masterfully so too, leaving you hanging on every individual word. This builds through to the punchlines that are both funny, and subvert expectations brilliantly. Between these jokes, Anthony breaks up the material with some self-confident remarks about himself as a comedian. It works two-fold, acting as an intermission between the subjects and also allowing the audience to take a break from the flurry of the jokes. Just like any other comic, Anthony Jeselnik is an acquired taste and some people will certainly be put off by the joke material. There’s a fair number of jokes around dropping babies and a few other taboo subjects including aids, racism and a tiny snippet of American politics. If you can take to his style of comedy and don’t mind the long pauses between jokes, Anthony Jeselnik’s latest stand-up show, Fire In the Maternity Ward is a very good one. It’s funny, witty and delivered in an incredibly clever manner. This is one stand-up show well worth checking out.
