Comedy / Reviews
Review: Miles Jupp, Bristol Old Vic
Miles Jupp worries that his audience consists of women in silk scarves and men in beige trousers “which makes me feel as if I’ve died and gone to Waitrose”. Yet, as the host of a Radio 4 institution (The News Quiz), it’s hardly surprising that Jupp attracts a rather mature audience who subconsciously touch their My John Lewis cards for reassurance when he briefly lashes out at men who like golf and Formula 1.
But that’s a rare moment of confrontation in Jupp’s set. His comedy is low-key – so low as to be almost subsonic. A languid murmur into the microphone delivers material on the slightest of topics: being mistaken for a trainspotter, an account of a drunken dinner. There are no big issues here. There aren’t even any small issues – just stories of herding the little Jupps and dealing with an unreliable plumber.
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In the past, Jupp’s comedy dynamic drew on the contrast between his delivery and his political views: lefty vehemence delivered in an impeccable RP accent, incandescence with good manners. But now he’s retreated into domesticity and serves up observational humour for the middle-aged middle class. The closest he gets to a moment of revolutionary passion is when he declares with vehemence: “Anyone who drinks cocktails out of a jar is a pervert”.
The title of his tour, Songs of Freedom, is not so much ironic as totally irrelevant. These are scenes from a perfectly ordinary middle-class life delivered with genial competence, but with few of the unexpected barbs and flights of rhetoric that used to distinguish Jupp from other well-spoken comedians delivering snapshots of family life in London’s Farrow & Ball enclaves.
Overall, Jupp provides a well-crafted set that’s safe to the point of blandness. Whilst it delivers enough laughs to offer value for money, it certainly doesn’t have audiences rolling in the aisles. It’s a perfectly nice comedy show that gives the audience a perfectly pleasant evening out. But if Jupp is seeking to adapt his style to suit his new News Quiz fan base, he’s not quite found the sweet spot yet.
Miles Jupp played Bristol Old Vic on Monday, Feb 13 and Tuesday, Feb 14. For upcoming Bristol comedy lineups, visit b247.staging.proword.press/channel/whats-on/comedy