Jim Jefferies: Alcoholocaust

Jim Jefferies - Alcoholocaust

Jim Jefferies is not a comedic name I'm that familiar with, although I recognised the Australian from the Comedy Central show Grumpy Young Men in which he is the stand-out participant - mainly because he is indeed rather funny instead of just a moaning git. Jefferies has pretty much established himself within the hierarchy of British comedy after a critically acclaimed 6th solo show at the Edinburgh Festival, selling 17,000 tickets and more than a dozen flattering reviews.

Alcoholocaust, the name of this stand-up set, is taken from the aftermath of a drinking party - essentially a description of every horizontal surface being covered in empty alcohol containers, a selection of spilled beverages and the presence of a rather sticky alcoholic residue on various surfaces. This performance was filmed in July 2010 at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, part of a 50 date tour that finishes in December.

Jefferies routine is an alcohol fuelled one, with the comic downing a pint, only to replace it from a box on the stage that he also sits on from time to time. His material can best be described as adult and offensive, with a peppering of swear words that includes repeated use of word c***, so this isn't for everyone. In spite of this, Jefferies routines are incredibly funny and once he reaches the end of each mini segment, you realise that his material is actually put together quite cleverly.

Quite frankly I found Jefferies to be utterly hysterical and the monumental story he tells at the end of the night that involves a old disabled wheelchair-bound school friend, his brother, an Australian brothel and five blokes from London is quite frankly the highlight of the night and utterly deserving of being the climax of the evening, in more ways than one. Jefferies is a superb observational comic and a master storyteller, with huge success seemingly awaiting him in the US.

Sadly the review copy I got was a DVD-R with a 2.0 Stereo soundtrack and a hugely intrusive banner present throughout the show that read "For promotional use only". Cheers, you're lucky I liked this or the promotional use wouldn't have applied. The set lasts for an hour fifteen, no idea if there will be any extras on the retail DVD.