Gary Delaney is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the comic world, from his appearances on the well regarded ‘Mock the Week’, to sell out shows at the Edinburgh Festival. The fact that this show has been on tour for nearly a year speaks volumes. Delaney’s style of comedy belongs to that of the one-line gags and to be honest I wondered how this would translate in an actual show. Would it become tiresome after a while? The answer is, no.
‘Gagster’s Paradise’ is a masterclass in one-liners. Delaney’s play on words, the puns, innuendo and his comic timing showcases his intelligence and mastery of the English language. Even before the show starts the audience are treated to the last ten or so years of Delaney’s Twitter feeds, warming up his audience nicely. Most people were already sat in the audience rather than the bar, as to not miss reading them! This was also marketing genius as I bet his Twitter followers have multiplied enormously because of this, myself being one of them.
I find Delaney to be a very humble and engaging comedian. The fact he introduced himself by popping his head out from the side of the stage, to the fact he entered with a cup of tea and laughing at times to some of his own jokes personifies his view of comedy. He informs us as to how he tried ‘dead pan’ comedy but failed miserably and I can see why. All he wants to do is make the audience laugh. We did. A lot.
As an audience you feel that you are also part of the creative process and Delaney is in fact teaching you the art of comedy. He lets you in to his mind and highlights the moments when he may be trying out a new joke on the audience. It somehow makes you feel special and held in high regard.
Delaney’s show is well structured, from the visual use of power point to footage of a town named ‘Gary’ in America. Jokes are witty, fast-paced and down-right filthy at times. Moments included Amazon reviews, card designs and outrageous Wikipedia entries. He skilfully transitions from visual to audio comedy with ease and interacts with his audience as if he has known you his whole life. He finds opportunities to veer away from what has obviously been scripted. He interacts with his audience well and builds a relationship through discussing local places and pokes fun at himself when things go wrong. He panics when he thinks the projector has a fault, only for a member of the audience to inform him that he has put his bottle of water in front of it. Delaney finds this hilarious, as do we, and another moment of comedy is created.
If I am being honest, I don’t think I could retell one of his jokes, I was laughing too much to try to remember them. It’s a good sign of an outstanding comedian when your cheeks ache from laughing too much. Mine were in real pain. Delaney likes to push the boundaries and his comedy may not be for all. The fact that he revels in trying to take the audience to the moment when he may have gone too far by the loudness of the ‘Ooh’s’ signifies his excitement in pushing the boundaries of taste.
‘Gagster’s Paradise’ is an incredible feat of sheer indulgent comedy. They say that laughter is the best medicine, well I shouldn’t be visiting the doctor for a long time then!
Reviewer - Cathy Owen
on - 7/6/19
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