Prepare to be offended and amazed. Perpetually cranky comic and close-up magic man Jerry Sadowitz promises two shows in one with this performance.
He gets carried away in some of his rants so the end of the show and the final tricks feel rushed.
Known for his sick humour, Sadowitz will be unpalatable for many although he does have legions of enthusiastic fans who cheerfully yell at him to ‘get f*cked’ as he successfully performs card tricks. The tricks are impressive – even more so because Sadowitz performs them with an unimpressed, almost resentful snarl. He performs the standard ‘pick a card’ trick as well as using tricks to tell stories (sort of) where cards disappear, change suits, turn blank or reappear.
The show is loosely structured around these card tricks – it’s topical magic, Sadowitz says before launching into spittle-filled, expletive-ridden, usually racist tirades. Nothing is safe from his wrath. Sadowitz’s material covers the Scottish Referendum, the Commonwealth Games, Madeleine McCann, the investigation into Cliff Richards and paedophilia in general.
When you go and see a comedian branded ‘controversial’ you do expect certain lines to be crossed. There are racist jokes with the pronouncement that Sadowitz is an equal opportunity racist, in that he hates everyone. There’s political denigration and at one point, Sadowitz gets his genitals out for the benefit of a terrified woman in the front row. I’m not a fan of the continued rape and paedophilia jokes. I appreciate what Sadowitz is doing but ethically it’s problematic and entertainment-wise it soon wears a little thin. Besides, Sadowitz has plenty of funnier material to offer.
He gets carried away in some of his rants so the end of the show and the final tricks feel rushed. From my vantage point, I wasn’t fooled by a couple of the tricks and there was one very obvious act of misdirection that I’d say most of the audience was too carried away laughing to notice.
Sadowitz revels in the taboo. His show is an assault of shock and awe. He is abusive, offensive, hilarious, magical, terrifying and utterly unapologetic.
