Have you ever laughed so much your mouth got sore, your stomach hurt, and you thought you might legitimately die of laughing? That’s the experience at Jack Tucker’s ‘Comedy Standup Hour’. Jack Tucker is a hacky comic cleverly crafted and performed by the self-proclaimed ‘bad boy of clown,’ Zach Zucker, who brings his one-night only stand-up hour to the Fringe once again.

Zucker (and Tucker) is known as the emcee of ‘Stamptown Comedy Night, but after seeing his hour (which actually ran two hours), it’s clear that it’s Zucker who makes the production as iconic as it is. He and his tech/director, Jonny Woolley, have engineered the perfect anti-comedy show that keeps audiences continuously keeling over. 

Many of the audience members had seen Zucker’s act before, myself included, but that doesn’t stop us from laughing. Zucker is the kind of act one can see over and over and over again without ever getting sick or bored of it. Repetition, one of the most common clowning techniques, only makes Zucker and Woolley stronger as a duo. Woolley replays sound cues from earlier in the show to cue Zucker, trolling him in the process. By teasing the audience with the start of Charli XCX’s ‘360,’ the emblematic ‘Family Guy’ theme tune and more anticipated gags, Zucker and Woolley held and released tension so often and for so long that they deserve an Olympic medal.

In many ways, Jack Tucker is the troll’s comedian. While this may not sound appealing to all, we’ve all had the urge to just be so ridiculous and dumb that it makes someone laugh. Zucker’s act is simple and yet, only he could master it so well. Between his Gaulier training and pro-dancer physicality, Zucker aptly plays the part of Tucker while staying tuned into sound cues, audience reactions and carrying the show through to a final apex, which features Zucker flying high above the audience. Jack Tucker’s ‘Comedy Standup Hour’ breaks comedy and puts it back together again in a new way, changing any audience member’s perspective on what comedy can and should be.

‘Comedy Standup Hour‘ has finished its run