| JARRED CHRISTMAS - Captain Curious |
| Written by Brendon Green |
| Thursday, 06 May 2010 00:15 |
 I love JARRED CHRISTMAS' marketing tag line - "the greatest local comic you've never heard of". Firstly because it's impossible to prove (there could be a greater one out there, but if you knew them, then they wouldn't be unknown.... bam, philosophised!), and secondly, because I totally had heard of him. In fact I saw him MC a comedy night in London last year, and I remember thinking - 'Damn, this guy is awesome, he should be some kind of celebrity back home'. So needless to say, I was very excited to see Jarred's triumphant return to NZ for this years Comedy Festival, and to see it advertised with such a perfectly apt tag line. Jarred Christmas is pure stand-up comedy, it's all about the jokes. The name of the show, 'Captain Curious', might suggest some kind of storyline or running theme, but all it really means is that Jarred has a good imagination. This let's him talk about any old stuff that he finds funny, and the man has a sharp eye for comedy gold. Having spent the last 10 years in the UK, you would forgive him for losing touch with his roots a bit, but there is no sign of that at all. The majority of stories center around his youth spent growing up in Christchurch, and having a good crack at his family (and all of it was true, as verified by Christmas' cousin who was spotted in the crowd, and who was laughing as hard, if not harder, than everyone else in the audience). He has an experienced air about him. He seems completely at home on stage, and can judge a crowd perfectly as to when to push further with a joke or when to back-peddle a bit. You can easily picture him in his element in a pub or club, unfolding stories and snappy zingers, to entertain and excite a crowd of socially lubricated joy-seekers. Unfortunately his show is in the Limelight Lounge, the venue with probably the worst atmosphere when it comes to this kind of comedy. As the man himself points out, the place feels more like a conference room where we have all been brought to do team building exercises and talk sales figures. He deserves better than that, but he is slick enough to make it work, and he has the audience in fits of laughter with every outrageous new story. If you want pure, unbridled stand-up comedy of the highest order, Jarred Christmas is the man for you. Hopefully we see him come back to NZ more than once during this next decade, so he can become one of the greatest local comics everybody has heard of. |
