Welcome to an audience with Jeff Goldblum. Except the man standing on stage doesn’t look like Jeff Goldblum. He doesn’t act like Jeff Goldblum. He doesn’t even talk like Jeff Goldblum. Basically, that man is definitely not Jeff Goldblum. In reality he is Benjamin Partridge and, luckily for you, he’s here to perform tear-jerkingly funny stand-up comedy that’s definitely a lot better than Jeff Goldblum.
There is something amazingly amusing about someone claiming the person of a celebrity, whilst simultaneously making absolutely no effort to bear any resemblance to them. Partridge clearly enjoys himself as he delivers Jeff-inspired comic quips with confident ease- when a list of FAQs is replaced with JeffAQs, apparently this is a great way to get to know the famous actor. At perfectly-timed moments, Partridge flicks to the screen behind him, supplementing the show with even more funny material. The projected images provide definitive ‘proof’ that Partridge really is Jeff – surely it would have to take a very brave person to question a picture of a Boots’ Advantage Points card belonging to a Mr J. Goldblum.
The laughter that rumbles through the show peaks at the moments when Partridge’s most abstract sense of humour comes to the fore. When he hands round small glasses of water with an imaginary prawn swimming inside, he offers apparently indispensable life-advice; if you connect with your prawn, your life will be irrevocably changed. The audience participation that Partridge plans works wonderfully- take, for example, the structured improvisation of a eulogy, which had the audience laughing so hard that some members struggled to get their lines out.
An absolute gem of a show that is completely bizarre and completely delightful, make sure you go and get to know the hilarious man hiding behind the ridiculous façade of Jeff Goldblum.
