Jim Jefferies, Symphony Hall, Birmingham - review
The venues might be grander and his bank balance considerably healthier, yet Jim Jefferies remains as razor sharp as when he first began winning acclaim more than a decade ago.
For the thick end of two hours the Aussie comedian kept a sold-out Symphony Hall laughing, thanks to a routine which took on subjects as varied as Donald Trump and parenthood.
Trademark leather jacket aside, the figure Jefferies now cuts is noticeably different to the one who initially earned notoriety in the UK in 2007 when he was attacked on stage by a member of the audience during a show in Manchester.
Back then he was an often angry performer, to the extent the lines between a deliberately aggressive on-stage persona and his own frequently became blurred.
The fact he now seems far happier should come as no surprise. After all, Jefferies has made it. Now living in Los Angeles, his hit late-night show on the US network Comedy Central was this week renewed for another series.
“If I’d carried on the way I was before, I’d probably be dead by now,” he remarks at one point.
But while he might be older and wiser, the good news is Jefferies remains riotously funny, with a comic mind so quick he has no problem keeping the audience engaged for the duration of the show.
And while some of his rough edges might have been shaved just slightly, it has merely left Jefferies a more confident and polished performer.
The fact he no longer feels the need to shock for shocking’s sake makes his still regular jabs into taboo territory all the more thrilling.
Neither, on this evidence, has he lost any of the off-the-cuff brutality which first made his name. When a heckler interrupts one particular routine, Jefferies embarks on a near 10-minute long character assassination so ludicrously detailed and observed it comes close to bringing the house down.
Jefferies is never going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But for those who like their comedy with a cutting edge, he is a master of his art.
