thu 28/03/2024

Jerry Seinfeld, O2 Arena | reviews, news & interviews

Jerry Seinfeld, O2 Arena

Jerry Seinfeld, O2 Arena

The American is an utter pro but lacks an emotional punch

Jerry Seinfeld, acclaimed New York stand-up and star of the eponymous American sitcom co-created with Larry David, last performed in the UK 13 years ago. He’s currently doing a brief European tour and, while keen fans were quick to snap up tickets at the O2 in London, there were noticeably bare areas in the vast arena last night. Lots of British comics have managed to sell out the O2 (some repeatedly), but those unsold seats should come as no surprise; ticket prices started at £75 and went up to an astronomical £300, so the burning question must be - was he worth it?

For presentation, a resounding yes, even if Seinfeld was sneaking glances at his teleprompter as his 90-minute set neared its conclusion. In terms of content and warmth, though, I fear not, as there were a few longueurs, much of his material is several years old and not once did the comic interact with the crowd.

His shtick is observational comedy occasionally taken to surreal lengths, and covers subjects as diverse as Pop Tarts, restaurants’ obsession with drizzling ("Can you just stop the drizzling!"), the stupidity of social networking, coffee-shop etiquette, why our friends irritate us, the recent royal wedding and the development of the human bottom - “It's a seat cushion growing out of your body. I believe we are slowly evolving into chairs.” That last gag - an oldie - was developed into a wonderfully daft riff on the joys of sitting, then to beds, the only household item to trump chairs, and why there is no section in a furniture store for deathbeds.

Getting married and becoming a dad (Seinfeld has three young children) can be problematic material for some comics as the subjects lend themselves to nauseatingly self-referential piffle - although those such as Dara Ó Bríain and Ed Byrne find ways to make the subjects amusing and universal - and Seinfeld had some inventive and original material about why he married at the grand old age of 45. “Clearly I had some issues,” he said. Then he deadpanned: “But I was enjoying those issues a lot.”

His long segment about the differences between men and women was frequently a witty and fresh take on the subject, and some of it was simply inspired - marriage from a man's point of view is like playing chess with the board made of water and the pieces fashioned from smoke, he said. But then the American veered into the cynical territory recently occupied by John Cleese.

Seinfeld has said on his blog that he had consulted his friend Ricky Gervais about current British cultural references and he threw in some amusing gags about the British obsession with weather and why coming to his show last night meant we weren’t at home worrying about the damage cucumbers might do to us. He hadn’t bothered to change other gags, however - Gatorade, anyone? - and a reference to the time/temperature clocks that are commonly seen on bank signs in the United States drew blank looks in the arena.

The well-crafted material was beautifully delivered by an accomplished performer, but there was only the occasional flash of warmth, such as when Seinfeld explained why he loves being a dad. For those coming fresh to Seinfeld, this was a peerless gig; for long-standing fans it was a slight disappointment - an established pro hitting the mark but not the heights.

Watch a clip of Jerry Seinfeld

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