Jimmy Carr joins a growing list of comedians brought to the City of Angels by the Comedy Club Bangkok team Chris Wegoda and Drew McCreadie. The pair has seen Bangkok comedy grow from pub back rooms to plush hotels, and while perfect for TED talks, are hotel conference rooms a touch too clinical for a Jimmy Carr gig? Thankfully not. The Westin Grande ballroom on Sukhumvit Road is warmly lit, well-staffed, and perfectly adequate to accommodate Jimmy Carr-sized crowds.
From Irish stock Carr grew up in Buckinghamshire acquiring his clipped aristocratic grammar school tones probably before reading political science at Cambridge. Many Brits first encountered Carr co-hosting shows such as Your Face Or Mine, presenting Distraction or as guest host on Have I Got News For You. Nowadays he's best known for his stand-up and looks set to increase his loyal following with this year's world tour.
Seats are taken, lights dimmed, and the show on March 29 starts. Backstage Carr warms his audience with a satirical slide show before the comic, who once described his physical appearance as a Down's syndrome Roger Federer, hits centre court. He's dapper, he's cool and he's in total control of his Bangkok audience. Barrages of well-timed one-liners are spun with sewing-machine-like precision. Like a linguistic conjuror Carr effortlessly juggles (without once dropping) a sack of controversial hot potatoes. His eyes (once described by his television producer girlfriend as the eyes of a rapist) stare at us with mock sociopathic intensity.
Laugh a minute shows are rare in any town but this is one such event. Carr's brand of comedy is parked somewhere between reactionary humour and observational wordplay, and he's a comic unafraid to play victim to his own skittish act. He once described his act as "jokes for people with ADD", skits stripped of all fat, whittled down straight to the point. We have mum jokes aplenty delivered straight from the school playground and a fair portion of audience participation -- despite his reputation Carr is kinder to his hecklers than many up and coming, more nervous, less prepared and less seasoned comedians.
This isn't Carr's first Bangkok rodeo. He entertained the expat community here in 2016 with his Funny Business tour. This Best of Ultimate Gold Greatest Hits World Tour isn't complex socio-political comedy, its good-natured word play and quirky observations. Carr has been making successful waves Stateside where his last two tours are featured as Netflix specials -- he even roasted actor Rob Lowe on Comedy Central.
Having mastered the very British art of being offensive in a charming fashion, being rude and polite simultaneously, Carr has established himself as a unique performer on the global circuit. Simplistic one-line routines may be considered a lesser comedic art than the complex narrative routines offered by other established comics, but neither Carr nor his enthusiastic audience could give a Sukhumvit rat's derrière about that.
And why should they? Carr's act is at best a fun and harmless antidote to the political ramblings and utterances littering social and traditional media.
He touches on local themes (ladyboys, anyone?), alongside adoption, haunted homes, Trump's wall, blind dates, all delivered with his trademark composed, impeccably timed, and at times utterly hilarious fashion.
Carr joins a growing list of comedians who have added Bangkok to their global tours, including Eddie Izzard, Gina Yasa, Neal Brennan, Jim Jeffries and Jim Gaffigan. You can visit the club above The Royal Oak on Sukhumvit 33/1, and engage in some well-deserved laughter therapy most Friday nights.
