The Truth About Jack Gramenz

★★★★
comedy review (adelaide) | Read in About 1 minute
Published 25 Feb 2018

The Truth About Jack Gramenz is the first solo show the Brisbane-based comic has taken to Adelaide. As such, he’s a bit of an unknown quantity at the Fringe, but those who give him a chance will be impressed with his broad and layered sense of humour; with jokes about suburban masculinity, the colonial implications of cricket, the aspirational male sex drive, and his detailed punter’s analysis of a kiddie rugby matchup.

Gramenz has mastered the theatrical aspects of his comedy. He speaks with a bright and animated cadence, he knows the value of a comedic beat, he has an enviable command of the segue, and he crafts seismic tonal shifts into his punchlines that enable them to hit with devastating force. This is how he gets one of his biggest laughs, strangely, off of a joke about rom-com plot lines and building code violations.

The truth about Jack Gramenz is that he is a solid comic with a very strong set. His crowd work might lack spontaneity, but his jokes are extremely well crafted, the performance is spot on, and his sense of humour is sharp, clever and insightful.