Posted in: Comics | Tagged: jerry sadowitz, london

Tonight, Jerry Sadowitz Plays His Largest Live Show Ever And Hates It

Tonight, stand-up comedian, magician and cartoonist Jerry Sadowitz plays the London Hammersmith Apollo, one of the most presitigious and largest comedy venues in the country. But he's not happy about it. He told the Guardian, "Do you think it makes me feel good that I'm doing a gig at Hammersmith because of adverse publicity? Really? Do you not think I'd prefer to have been given the opportunity because I'm a good comedian?" He adds "I expect only a third of the seats will sell. And, of those, two-thirds will come out of curiosity because of Edinburgh. And they'll probably walk out. I think… it's exceptionally difficult for any newcomer to enjoy what I do." And that may have been the issue in Edinburgh. The pandemic added a two-year gap into a comedian's reputation on the scene. But let's back up a little.

In 2020, I ran a story about Jerry Sadowitz relaunching his comedy show in the middle of the pandemic, relying on the fact that only a few people would come to his show to keep himself safe. Not For Anyone was held in the height of lockdown, telling us "Jerry Sadowitz – comedian magician psychopath- is the perfect antidote to man-made viruses designed to slow down climate change by ridding the world of people like you. Whether you've had the Coronavirus or just thinking about it… come and aerate your lungs at the world's no.1 offensive forced isolating, comedy scaremongerer. HAVE A LAUGH – as you receive texts in the dark to show that your loved ones have just DIED. THRILL – to the knowledge that MORE ACCESSIBLE comedians will be forced to cancel their show because their audience numbers exceed 500. SMELL – the horror Sadowitz faces because you b**tards stockpiled toilet paper and soap from the supermarkets months before. GO – &%#* yourself. Please note – Mr. Sadowitz will NOT be contracting the coronavirus as he is a comedian "too big to fail" and refunds will NOT be given to mid or post-show punter fatalities."

At the time, I pointed out that Sadowitz was one of the most brilliant live comedians I has ever seen, and even better than his close magic tricks on stage, was the trick he performed  to portray himself as the very worst of the worst, the scum on your shoe, a person beneath your contempt and for whom the whole world has shat upon. So that any joke he then told, against any target no matter how marginalised, using the worst possible language available to him, was an exercise in punching up. The last time I saw him, he was complaining that no one had tried to cancel him. That, unlike some stars, no one had caught him in a hotel room with two underage girls, and he really wished they would. Though he'd just be happy with the hotel room. But he'd also really like the publicity that Louis CK got. He then proceeded to whip his penis out on stage to leave it dangling for some time, wishing the Daily Mail might get outraged at him, but was resigned to the fact that it would not.

Earlier this year, Jerry Sadowitz got what he asked for, as it seemed that the young volunteer staff of the Pleasance Theatre for the Edinburgh Fringe came to Jerry Sadowitz's Not For Anyone routine fresh after two years without shows, little context with which to judge and cancelled him, his second night at the Pleasance being withdrawn. And it got so much publicity, asking about free speech, snowflakes, and the art of comedy – though no one actually daring to repeat the jokes that Sadowitz got fired for.

But it worked, his tours started to sell out, he got more dates added, even if one realised too late exactly who they'd booked. And tonight he plays the Apollo, which people try and call the Eventim after the current sponsors of the venue, but no one plays a blind bit of notice, and frankly, I expect any corporate sponsor will want to run away from tonight's performance. On stage, Jerry Sadowitz generally hates the audience, the management of the show and himself. I get the feeling tonight, he is going to hate them all more than ever before. And yes, there are still a few seats available. I get the feeling it is going to be quite the legendary performance. I'll tell you how it goes…

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