When you consider the size of the venue, the fact that there was a warm up man and the pulling power of Jack Dee you do wonder how this show could have made a profit for such a well known and respected comedian. The answer lies in the nature of the performance. It was entitled “work in progress” and that’s what it was, a try out for much larger gigs. On this evidence Lincoln was fortunate indeed and needless to say the few available tickets were snapped up straight away.
Nevertheless, after Dee’s sitcom Lead Balloon featuring the hapless Rick Spleen, played by the man himself, a man who is eclipsed as a stand up comedian by his non performing co writer and with Jack Dee himself succinctly described by my mate Stewart as “a miserable sod” the audience, no doubt, like me were wondering what kind of stand up would be delivered. We needn’t have been concerned; the answer was side splittingly funny from the off. A lot of comedians will engage in a little light hearted mickey taking of the venue or area or both. Dee’s version was a masterclass in deadpan humour and timing.
The venue itself was changed from the usual set up. The stage was removed and seating was installed at the sides and at an angle to the performer giving a really intimate feel to an already enclosed performance area. We haven’t see too much of Jack Dee on TV lately but on this evidence he’s lost none of his timing and comic genius. The laughs rolled on for 70 or 80 minutes. For an encore he played a guitar and sang. The guitar didn’t work properly and it was just as funny as the rest of the show. Whether that was deliberate we may find out if we hear the routine again in front of thousands instead of a couple of hundred at the LPAC. One things for sure. It can’t be any better than the prototype.
Lincoln Performing Arts Centre. The front rows were removed and replaced with seating around the performer. Picture taken from the LPAC website.
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