It’s a difficult task for a character comedian to stretch out one persona for 60 minutes and still make it both creative and funny. Fortunately for the audience, Joe Bor has mastered this art, delivering a high quality performance that was consistent throughout the show.
The premise is Joe Bor is ‘Jasper Cromwell Jones,’ an over-privileged climber who has just written a book about surviving a climbing expidition that went wrong. Jasper’s harrowing adventure cost him his equally well off friend ‘Fishy’ who sadly didn’t survive the expedition. It’s all comes out in the wash though, as we find out pretty early on Fishy was sleeping with Jasper’s girlfriend and (spoiler alert) he is played by Jack Whitehall.
You have to admire Bor’s attention to detail. On the stage is a fully-functional tent which Joe pops out of after the show’s video introduction. He wears a massive parka for most of the show which must have been sweltering considering how hot the room already was. He even joked that next year’s character will be a lifeguard.
One of the strongest points of the show was Bor’s interaction with the audience. His ‘posh-off’ that he had with a young man in the front row was skillfully done, and whilst there was significant sound bleeding from the show upstairs, he used it to his advantage. He had everyone on the count of three yell ‘shut up Carly Smallman’ which ended up being one of the funniest moments of the show. Bor broke character in this way quite a lot but it actually added to the hilarity.
Joe might have picked an easy target as most people find young, overly posh men obnoxious, but he didn’t stop at one-dimensional clichés. He had an amazing way of making you both hate Jasper but also feel a bit sorry for him, especially towards the end, almost making him endearing. This is definitely a show worth checking out.
****
Danica Priest
Joe Bor is Jasper Cromwell Jones is on at the GIlded Balloon Teviot at 7pm until 25th August. Buy tickets HERE
