James Acaster: Repertoire

***Hints of jokes, but no punchlines spoiled***

I found James' special on Netflix, randomly browsing. I had no expectations and was equally prepared to be surprised or disappointed.

Instead - I found myself thoroughly entertained by a master storyteller who manages to fuse the mundane and absurd so well that you almost it.

Elements such as jury duty, retail strategies for honey, and kitchen mirrors were used to deliver delightful chuckles at the sheer idiocy of we humans.

My favorite bit was the existential ponderings triggered by a visit to the dentist. Bravo James.

This is a fellow to keep an eye on.

This is more of a performance piece than what is traditionally a "stand-up" comedy routine...well, four routines. Highly intelligent, written with precision and masterfully acted, James Acaster reinvents the genre and gives a radically new take on the stand-up. While it's wide-ranging, it all seems to be of a piece and each episode could stand alone, but there are references to what's come before that invite the audience to join in the joke. The persona Acaster gives is someone who may be a little dim, but his ponderings--sometimes with one sentence or sometimes a lengthy story--sharply illustrate today's modern culture. He/she will recognize situations if not necessarily brand names (Pret a Manger) or the finer details of Brexit. Eschewing what's typically become a ribald forum for shocking the audience, this (these pieces) are at a much higher plain using language to unmask the viewer rather than berate us with the obvious. Thoroughly entertaining and fresh.

I mostly knew James Acaster from some panel shows he went on. I then remembered seeing that he had a comedy special on netflix, and decided to watch it. First of all, I was agreeably surprised by the fact that it was a series of 4 stand up shows, I had never seen that before.

And watching it, every joke, every situation being randomly delivered until, at the very end of every episode he brings it all together like a puzzle of a rainbow he'd been designing this all time... I was amazed. In the end, he was hilarious, dramatic and he is a genie in comedic composition, if that's ever a thing.

James Acaster is my favourite comedian of all time. I've seen every TV appearance he's made, all his live clips online, listened to all of his classic scrapes and read his book. I LOVE this man, he has the ability to make me no matter what. So when I heard that 4 hours worth of his material was going to be put on Netflix, I was ecstatic to say the least.

Every part of this four-part comedic masterpiece is hilarious. The show is made up of new and old material. The old stuff still lands as well as it did the first time I heard it and the new stuff was amazing to see.

Each episode has James (colour coordinated with the stage background) seemingly rambling about unconnected topics for 55 minutes at a time, but by the end you realise that you've seen an perfectly plotted show that managed to somehow get a very strange plot across.

Gags like James playing us his comedy podcast, talking about jury duty, massages, pictures-you-put-your-head-in, folding boxes, Google logos, Dr Pepper, conga lines, Mexican restaurant cutlery and how to break the ice sound like they don't connect but by the end of all four you're aware you've seen something special.

The final episode especially manages to tie in in-jokes from all three other episodes as well as some more new material that manages to cap off the whole show and make you feel like you've seen one 4-hour set rather than four unrelated shows.

It's unlikely, but I hope that more of Acaster's work makes it to Netflix as more people need to be exposed to his genius. If you love Acaster like I do, this will be the highlight of your year so far. If you've never heard of him then do yourself a favour and check this out, you'll love it.

At points while watching this, you genuinely ask yourself, how am I laughing this hard? That was completely and very comically bizarre. But that man is a genius and the way he links together his jokes, rants and strange mannerisms into 50 or so minutes will not only have you questioning yourself and your existence through his absurd, thought provoking dialogues, but will also cheer you up without fail and have you in stitches throughout. 10/10

I made a whole account just to write this review. People deserve to see this.