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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Miles Jupp - Gentlemen Prefer Brogues
Verdict: Landed gent looks down
Edinburgh - Gilded Balloon Billiard Room - August 03
'I'm privileged,' welcomes Miles Jupp. 'Not just to be here, but in general.' His stage persona is upper class, but certainly not a twit. 'You posh twat,' somebody shouts at him in the street (he says). 'How did you know?' he replies, flattered.
One of his entourage hits the passer-by in the face with the cuff of his waxed jacket. Jupp himself gets a nasty jolt when the bearers of his sedan carriage break into an unexpected run. Impressing his elders is hard. At school, he was put in charge of the library. His grandfather was in charge of India.
Miles Jupp's stage character is posh to the brogues. They're brown, showing his contempt for the gentleman's adage: never brown in town. His trousers are khaki chinos, topped with a generously tailored micro-check tweed jacket worn over an open-necked blue-stripe shirt. He's fresh-faced, with wire-framed specs. Like many of the capacity audience, he grew up on an estate. In his case it was a country estate, but he was nearly glassed by a champagne bottle shard.
He had his dog put down ('Needed the boot space'), and loved his nanny - perhaps a little too much. The delightfully entertaining hour Jupp the aristo provides passes fast. It's first-class character comedy, bucking the trend of altcom by putting the class system back upright. The nobs are on top again, or at least this knob is.
If the character is what's gloriously unique about this highly individual show, it is Miles Jupp's inspirational humour that puts flesh on the bones. Carefully woven around the premise of the lofty landowner ('A beggar asked me for money. What, all of it, I said? Most of it's tied up in land. Ended up writing him a cheque.') is a web of well-written one-liners, given with perfect timing and an an immediately engaging ease of delivery.
The range of the material is a delight. A girlfriend spit-roasts his peacock - leading cook to complain it's given the wrong taste to the barbeque. There's sympathy for drug addicts trying to find a vein ('We've all had trouble with low quality Stilton. It's like varicose Dairylea'). It's both specific to the area (exact jokes about Edinburgh and Glasgow personalities and areas), and universal.
Like all excellent character comedy, Miles Jupp's stage character is well-defined and, in its own world, believable. He's warm in manner, so that the audience puts up with, and enjoys, some outrageous insults. Crucially, this being stand-up, he's extremely funny. Tour-de-force comedy from a gifted performer.
Credits (alpha order): Written and performed by Miles Jupp. Technical Manager - Nic Watson.
END
John Park
reviewed Friday 21 August 03 / Edinburgh / Gilded Balloon Billiard Room
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
