JACK TUCKER

This is a show for real comedy aficionados. Jack Tucker is a lousy, hack, charmless New York comedian. He’s also the creation of Zach Zucker, half of the critically acclaimed clown duo Zach and Viggo, who run the equally acclaimed Stamptown Comedy Night.

Part deconstruction of the tropes and tricks of hack stand-up, part glimpse into a damaged, unreliable psyche, Tucker is a dishevelled mess of a comic who is a legend only in his own mind. The blurb for the show informs us, tongue-in-cheek, that he is successful, not in New York City itself, but in the very specific and not all as impressive sounding “Upstate New York regional standup comedy scene”. It also tells us that he has “sold out” all over the world – and by God, when it comes to selling out his dignity, he surely has.

Accompanied by a variety of sound effects punctuating his material, Tucker comes across as a comic to whom their words, jokes and routine no longer carry any meaning – powering through the hour with an energy that covers up the fact he’s dead inside.

It’s a beautifully realized and painfully observed character piece from Zucker, masquerading as a stand-up show. It was a hit at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival and is one of the most unforgettable hours of silly, emotionally committed, post-modern comedy you will see.

If you’re a lover of stand-up you’ll get a lot out of this merciless take down of some of the artform’s more unoriginal and unlauded practitioners. And if you just like your comedy unpredictable and in your face, I’d thoroughly recommend you getting along to Boom Chicago.

See him action:

Tickets to his stand-up show Jack Tucker – Comedy Stand-up Hour! at Boom Chicago are available now!

by Simon Lukacs

Simon Lukacs has made his great escape from Brexit Britain to join our cast in booming Amsterdam. He has been improvising for 7 years, and has performed with some of the best improvisers in the UK and beyond. He trained with The Second City, The Free Association, Monkey Toast and The Spontaneity Shop.

He has taught improv for The Free Association, one of London’s premier improv schools/ theaters. As a character comedian, Simon has taken two shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He has written for ITN in the UK, and appeared alongside critically acclaimed sketch act Massive Dad for BBC3.