Standup Routine: James Acaster: Repertoire

Netflix standup routine unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Four one hour routines, interlinked, with numerous cross-references and recurring themes. Some of it is silly, some surreal, some kinda stupid, but some freaking brilliant. All in all it’s a journey well worth taking IMO. Elevates standup to the level of, say, a symphony.

Watched the whole 4-hour show a second time.

That's unheard of for a comedy routine. There are a lot of bizarre transitions -- almost dream logic stuff -- and the pacing like a real symphony gradually oscillates between manic fast and exhausted slow, back and forth (adagios and prestos). The reuse/recycling of elements, sometimes tiny, is masterful.

As I said though, not all of the bits work, not all of the bits are funny. Maybe they're not meant to be.

Immediately afterward we watched Chris Rock's latest standup, and the contrast couldn't have been more stark. Rock dropped the f-bomb in every sentence, and talked about sex non-stop. This is what passes for comedy in most acts these days.

Wife reminded me that Whoopi Goldberg used to spin long elaborate routines with a variety of characters that only gradually pulled together into a coherent narrative toward the end. Acaster is a throwback to the golden age of stand-up, before it became just scatological.