Spencer Jones Presents: The Herbert In Proper Job, Nottingham
You might think that Corbynism is the most popular religion among stand-ups these days, but even more widespread is the devotion to the clowning workshops of Philippe Gaulier. Having inspired A-list types such as Sacha Baron Cohen, a place on a Gaulier course is now de rigueur for any comic seeking to add an experimental physical component to their work. Gaulier’s techniques have shaped some intriguing comedy talents, among them mime artist Doctor Brown and emerging star Spencer Jones, whose delightfully crude antics bring all of this high-flown theatrical rhetoric right down to earth. Jones appears here in the guise of The Herbert: a hunch-shouldered misfit incapable of communicating sensibly with an audience and who takes a childish delight in the daftest of physical jokes. For all the theory involved, this is Mr Bean-esque comedy that connects primarily with the gut – and which you don’t need any classes to understand.
Kevin Eldon, London
Comedy fans have had plenty of opportunities over the years to marvel at the skills of Kevin Eldon, whether as a regular on Big Train and Brass Eye, making inspired cameos in everything from I’m Alan Partridge to Nighty Night, or more recently in his shortlived sketch show, It’s Kevin. The hallmarks of his performances are a technical ability to hit laugh lines worthy of the finest classical stage comedian, allied to an unsettling, almost reptilian otherness that makes him impossibly watchable, and allows him to constantly steal scenes without ever going over the top. Eldon’s live performances have traditionally been few and far between, but in recent times he’s been more willing to venture out and allow audiences to enjoy his self-penned experiments with character comedy. The high point is his self-regarding and under-talented performance poet Paul Hamilton.
BarFM, W12, Wed; Bush Hall, W12, Fri
Andy Hamilton: Change Management, On tour
For some performers, the adrenaline rush of stand-up is very hard to give up. Even Judd Apatow has recently started going back behind the mic because, for all the money and kudos that helming films such as Knocked Up gives you, there’s still something extra-special about trying to make a room of strangers laugh. As the co-creator of shows such as Outnumbered and Drop The Dead Donkey, Andy Hamilton has nothing to prove to anyone; that’s a pretty impressive track record of tickling. But clearly he hasn’t shaken off his love of live performance. As a comedian, Hamilton has an economical way with words, nailing ideas with haiku-like precision. While he sends up his supposedly advanced age in those inimitable nasal tones, the agility and invention of his comedic thinking would shame comics half his age.
