When thinking of the city in which to premiere his debut Netflix special, there was only one choice for Zach Zucker. Stamptown, in its various mutations, has been a staple of the Edinburgh Fringe for over a decade.  Zach got his start here, performing in small, off-the-beaten-path venues to tiny crowds, and being lampooned by critics for his particular brand of comedy not fitting into any neat mould. To be in the room as Zach and his team of friends/co-creators unveiled the culmination of their efforts was a beautiful full-circle moment, witnessing hours of toil crystallised into a product which puts him on the world stage, where he has always belonged.

Stamptown is a fever dream  of a cabaret show hosted by Zach’s alter ego, Jack Tucker. Tucker himself is a walking one-man band, accompanied by his faithful soundboard up in the wings, he moves through the world  with a kind of inherent musicality. When Zach himself appears on stage before the screening, it’s almost confusing that  he doesn’t just naturally generate gunshot noises from his fingers or disco song snippets from a shake of his hips. The strength of the character he has created and the world he inhabits is incredibly impressive. 

In Stamptown there are no rules, no boundaries that can’t be broken. Items on the comedic menu include, but aren’t limited to: sex robots, a fetus performing stand-up, a bearded techy spitting beer into Neil Patrick Harris’s mouth. It’s enough to make even the most hardened fan clutch at their pearls, and yet it never veers into crassness, just dancing delicately enough on the line between offence and kindness. 

The climax of the show features a fist pumping anthem from Jordan Gray, who sings, dances, and plays the piano fully nude. For Zucker to give over the finale of his special to such an important moment of visibility for a trans performer speaks to the enduring value of Stamptown. What can from a distance feel like a freakshow or an exercise  in inanity is in fact a venue for acceptance and uplifting people. No other show could bring a tear to  your eye at the  same time as making  you clutch your sides in laughter and cover your mouth in shock. 

Stamptown is on Netflix now