Review – Jimmy McGhie: Artificial Intelligence
As a general rule, I like to start the Comedy Festival with an ok show – not bad, but not so good that I might not see anything better for the rest of the festival. Sadly, I started with Jimmy McGhie, and he was amazing. I went in knowing nothing about the comedian, and was pleasantly surprised by one of the best acts I’ve seen in a long time. There was a brief dip after a strong start, but from there it just got funnier and funnier.
Overall, the performance was a pretty traditional stand-up performance with a heavy helping of characters. I get the feeling most of the prepared material has had UK names switched out for local references, but that’s to be expected (and he had the good sense to take shots at Queensland and Collingwood, so he’s clearly done his research). The characters were all spot on – my personal favourite being the phone salesman opposed to any phone without a touchscreen.
In addition to his great prepared material and wonderful characters, Jimmy was an excellent improviser. Well, that or he just regularly performs next to in session city council meetings (they even asked him to keep the audience from getting too loud). McGhie also uses audience interaction to good effect – so maybe avoid the front few rows if you’re not a fan of that. Personally, I think if the comedian is smart with it audience involvement can only improve the act, and McGhie is definitely smart (despite his claims to the contrary).
Overall, I was incredibly impressed by every aspect of the show, and would highly recommend going. McGhie’s quick wit, clever stories & and charming smile should be enough to win anyone over. If you need any more encouragement, there’s an added bonus if you arrive early – you get to sit in the Council Chamber chairs, which is kind of a bit fun.
Jimmy McGhie is performing every night except Mondays until the 20th of April.
