Fuelled by my enjoyment of his “Eight out of 10 Cats” television show, off we went to the Caird Hall last night expecting to be dazzled by Carr’s self proclaimed rapier wit. But Stephen Fry he isn’t.

Though it’s initially mildly amusing to hear foul mouthed swearing in such a posh accent, the novelty value quickly wears off when you realise his “jokes” are just a series of rapid fire crude pot shots at those less intelligent than his exalted self.

It seemed nothing was off limits. Women, rape victims, abused children, paraplegics, fat people, blind people, black people, God, Jesus, pets – and so it went on. The front section for people in wheelchairs was referred to as the “cabbage patch”. Homosexuals, male and female, were a favourite topic. Repeated references to anal sex and lots of simulated self-play were used to get a laugh.

He explained that we laugh first then gasp with shock because the former is an instinctive reaction and the latter is what happens when when our thinking brains kick in. No Jimmy, where I was sitting most of the laughing was embarrassed incredulity.

The saddest part was the verbal kicking he gave everything to do with the Scots, Dundee and Dundonians. I won’t repeat what he said because it isn’t worth hearing, but his smarmy sneering at his paying audience laughing like hyenas while he ripped them apart was vaguely sinister. In the end I wished I hadn’t gone for three reasons.

1. I rated him before I saw him live and now I don’t
2. The acoustics in the Caird Hall were terrible and the lack of large screens for proper viewing was a disgrace.
3. It was sad to see a clever man stoop so low.

Tags: Caird hall, comedy, Dundee, events dundee, Jimmy Carr

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2 Comments Posted by SJB