An Evening of Hale and Hardy Comedy!

Jeremy Hardy

Theatre Severn

Ssaturday 24th September 2016

Of all the performing arts, possibly with the exception of juggling knives whilst dangling upside down from a tightrope, it is fair to say that the lot of a stand-up comedian must rate highly on an entertainer’s fear factor scale. After all so much could go wrong. Probably skydiving without a parachute might be akin to the Jester’s art; only when a parachutist dies at least he doesn’t hear the audience hiss.

However, fear or not Jeremey Hardy of “Speaks to The Nation,” and “I’m sorry I haven’t a clue,” rolled his sleeves up and with just a microphone and a bottle of water held the audience in the palm of his hands for almost two and a half hours.

With a delivery not dissimilar to Morrisey singing one of his early eighties hits, the avuncular Hardy, looking like everyone’s Dad ever did when one was six, waved his arms and wandered through the political wilderness that is Westminster today.

Probably somewhat uncomfortable for anybody that wasn’t a socialist Jeremy laid out his comedy manifesto and delivered on his promise to make the audience laugh, and laugh they did.

It wasn’t all political satire one hastens to add his act comprised of  shrewd and sharp observations of how we all seem to get through the mighty challenge of life  in Twenty-First century Britain.

With no fear of holding back he delivered some fascinating and hilarious observations. He even shared with us the disappointing fact that no matter how he tried he couldn’t help liking Boris Johnson and Ann Widdecombe, when he met them as individuals.

It is funny but given how diverse we are as people, if there is comedy in the offing the majority of us will suspend our own thoughts and affiliations and laugh along. Some might have not, but they were in a minority!

 However plucky Jeremy Hardy had no truck with that and with a healthy side serving of left wing, Marxist comment he was fulfilling his part of the deal and delivering incredibly funny observations for the general digestion of everyone.

His message being, we are all people just getting by. Perhaps some might not agree with him that everyone who hates windfarms and organic food are right wing, but it was funny to hear him suggest it.

A good comedian will have you in fits of laughter because you can see yourself or someone you know in the situation that under scrutiny looks ridiculous, but still offence is not taken because it is after all, only comedy.

But Hardy is not a politician he is far more important than that. He is able to make his speech and even though his raw material is all of us, he leaves us laughing. He holds up a candle to all of our peccadillos. If one doesn’t like him because of that then it just means one isn’t getting the joke. The Joke is us. In the hands of a skilful comedian we are the funniest gag material there is.

Hardy’s act is quintessentially British. He himself as an Englishman, knows what it is that makes us tick and what makes us laugh. There is something absolutely British about going to the theatre having a good laugh at how silly we are. If anyone is to have the task of highlighting that, then there is no safer hands than those on the end of the extremely animated arms of Mr. Jeremy Hardy.

This is a Four Star review

Owen J. Lewis