There are
lot of funny TV shows out there, but there aren’t many that can make you laugh
out loud until you’re actually in pain. For me, Impractical Jokers is one of those shows, so when I found out they
would be performing a live show at the O2 Arena in London on 13th October, it was an easy
decision to snap up some tickets and head on down.
If you haven’t
seen it, Impractical Jokers is a show where four lifelong friends put each
other in public situations and then, via earpiece, tell them what to do or say,
with painfully embarrassing (and hilarious) results. With less likeable people
the format could become obnoxious, but luckily the four Jokers are very
likeable. Sal Vulcano, Joe Gatto, Bran “Q” Quinn and James “Murr” Murray have been
performing together for over fifteen years as The Tenderloins, earning an
impressive reputation as both an improv act and the writers and stars of their own very
funny YouTube sketches. They know each other inside out, which gives them a
great chemistry and rapport with each other. Most importantly, none of them are
afraid to be the butt of the joke, and the emphasis is always on making
fools of themselves rather than other people.
Even though
I was already a big fan of the TV show, I wasn’t sure how well it would
transfer into a live setting, or even what form the show would take. After the
Jokers walked onstage to a massive ovation from the crowd, I sensed a slight
feeling of unease in the audience, which I think was due to a large portion of
the crowd not knowing what to expect.
As it turned
out, the show was essentially a four man stand-up act, mixed with some new
filmed sketches and some clips from the show. It took a little while for the
Jokers to find their rhythm, but before long they were effortlessly playing off
each other and the audience. In a venue as huge as the O2 it can be hard for
performers to draw everyone in and make them feel included, but the Jokers
succeeded, and by the end it felt like we were in a tiny comedy club in New
York.
The stand-up
format allowed each of the four Joker’s time to shine, but out of the four of
them I was most impressed with Sal, who looked really comfortable on stage and,
at times, felt like the glue holding everything together. That isn’t a knock on
the rest of the guys; everyone was great (Joe is probably one of the craziest
and most fearless people walking the face of the Earth), and The Tenderloins are
definitely more than just the sum of their parts.
All in all,
a really good show, and I’ll definitely be back next time.
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