Justin Hamilton – The Killing Joke
Peter Sellers once said There is no me, I do not exist. There used to be a me but I had it surgically removed. Once you’ve seen and understood Justin Hamilton’s new festival show The Killing Joke you will understand that quote.
I don’t want to disclose too much of the content of this show because this is a piece which unfolds its secrets progressively. The first fifteen minutes is a progressive build up of tension as it asks questions which takes the entire hour to address. But to loosely describe this show, it’s like a one man play combined with what is more recognisable as stand up routines.
The Killing Joke showcases the closest thing you’ve ever seen to “Justin Hamilton – the actor”. As I watched this show come to a climax I craved for an Al Pacino like performance, but it was held back by Mr Hamilton. I wanted Justin to hit me with both barrels of unabated emotion. But as soon as he reached his climax of anger I realised that my pre judgement was completely wrong and his judgement was perfectly assessed. He captures the strangled frustration of the situation at hand with absolute aplomb. Justin’s canny judgement of how to weave the delicate fabric of his material speaks volumes about his approach to this show, which is intricately underpinned by exquisite integrity.
This show is certainly the darkest and most staggeringly honest piece of work that Justin has produced, even topping last years monumental Three Colours Hammo in that regard. And, aware as I am of pointlessness and redundancy of comparing this year’s show with that of twelve month previous, I will point out that this show, whilst not being a sequel per se, operates in a way to satisfactorily close out the story, coming close to packing as much weight into this one hour as Justin did in the previous three put together.
That said, I don’t want you to get the idea that this is a dark and miserable hour of entertainment, because it certainly isn’t. Justin seamlessly works some his best stories through this show, coming up with a very clever conceit by which to flash the boldest humour against the grey landscape he paints, with the gravitas merely helping to amplify the humour.
This is a definite must see of the festival, and Justin has already indicated publicly that this may be the last time for him. Go and see him now, you’ll kick yourself if you don’t.
Visit the comedy festival website for bookings and other details