Jack Barry: You Don't Know Jack

Jack Barry has the potential to be an electric comic. His show, You Don’t Know Jack discusses identity and his quarter life crisis, but while it is meant to be a cacophony of thoughts that he attempts to resolve, the hour just becomes muddled.

If Jack can learn to have faith in his own ability and introduce some light and shade into his routine, he’s onto a winner.

This is not to say that Jack doesn’t have good material — he makes some thoughtful observations. Commenting on how babies and toddlers are always issuing death warrants is wonderfully conveyed as is his admission that a loving family has left him with no angst or ammunition to use in furthering his plight as a comedian. Self-deprecating storytelling also works for Jack and revealing how he was dumped by his ex-girlfriend was also highly amusing.

Jack, however needs to work on two main areas — faith and flow. Talking about his quarter-life crisis (a topic that is in danger of becoming hack) is not the most interesting thing about Jack’s life. He has some real stories to tell, such as living in China for three years and speaking Mandarin. This is an area he should’ve developed more in the show, telling more colourful tales from his time in the Far East. Secondly, alternating the tone, pace and volume will stop the show from appearing 2D. He rarely shifted the tone, which inevitably works against his goal of holding onto an audience’s short attention span. Perhaps if he could work on his crowd interaction with sharper, wittier comebacks he may fare better in future shows. Jack also mentioned that his room at The Mash House was unsuitable for comedy — he’s just lucky there wasn’t a bar with rowdy punters in the back who would’ve inevitably made it an even more difficult hour.

Overall if Jack can learn to have faith in his own ability and introduce some light and shade into his routine, he’s onto a winner.