Humanity Hallows Issue 5 Out Now!
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By Sam Gosling
Returning after a seven year absence, Ricky Gervais made a triumphant come-back to stand up in Manchester this week with his new show Humanity. With Gervais concentrating more on acting and directing these days, it would be understandable to think he might be out of touch with the stand up scene. However, nothing could be further from the truth.
A packed Manchester Apollo eagerly anticipated the arrival on stage of arguably Britain’s biggest comedian. Gervais arrived on stage at the sold out venue to a huge cheer from the waiting crowd and had them in the palm of his hand from the start.
Following on from his first four stand up shows; Politics, Animals, Fame and Science, Humanity is his most personal show to date, Gervais talking about growing up in Reading and the vast differences to his life today in Hampstead. He also spoke about his partner Jane, his mother and his brother Bob, telling hilarious anecdotes about his sibling that show that comedy is in his blood.
One of the funniest parts of the show was when he talked about hosting the Golden Globes and the animosity he received afterwards, particularly from Caitlin Jenner. Political correctness certainly took a night off as Gervais proved that no subject is untouchable in comedy as long as it comes from the right place. The delivery of his jokes about taboo subjects such as rape, death, and transgender issues showed that, regardless of the subject, it is how the joke is delivered and who is delivering it that is more important and at no point did the audience seem to feel that he had overstepped the mark.
With the crowd on his side, Gervais talked about how the media like to “alienate him from the general public.” He also spoke about certain sections of the media criticising his decision to not have children with his long term partner. Instead of complaining too much, however, he made jokes about how children are “scroungers” and how he preferred animals to people anyway.
It is undeniable that Gervais is no longer a struggling comedian, trying to make a living on the circuit. Indeed, he is a multi millionaire and, instead of ignoring this issue, he addressed it with the audience on a few occasions calling them “scum” and pointing out that he is “so rich that he could buy this place and burn it down just for a laugh…” Some might mistake this for arrogance on his part but it showed that, even though he may not be in touch with the common man anymore, he can still certainly make them laugh. The fact that he lives a life that is dominated by his work and not the celebrity scene seems to have kept him in favour with his audience.
Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another seven years to see him doing what he does best!
Sam studies Politics and is a Labour Party activist. He enjoys live music and writing. Follow him @SamGosling84
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