Have you ever imagined yourself belly laughing at a cot death joke? Nope, me either. Until Humanity happened that is.
Ricky Gervais’ latest stand up tour commenced earlier in the year and he descended upon Birmingham at the end of June and of course I’d eagerly snatched up tickets the morning they were released. It’s been a while since Gervais has done a stand up tour and the time spent preparing was definitely well worth it, he was even more on form than I could’ve ever imagined!
From start to finish the jokes were hilarious, inappropriate, dirty, sweary and everything you could possibly hope for. Just when you think he couldn’t possibly go any deeper into the realm of inappropriate, he goes there and then some and it’s pure genius. Of course the cheeky references to his wealth and fame can get tiresome sometimes but I suppose it doesn’t hurt to be proud of your achievements. What I admire most, however, is Gervais’s commitment to animal welfare and at the end of the show he took time out to raise awareness about the Yulin dog meat festival; a horrific, brutal and cruel festival that frankly needs to stop. You can’t not admire a sell-out comedian who takes time out of their comedy set to share an important message.
I think Ricky Gervais is a bit like Marmite, some people love him and others absolutely despise him. Some people are just easily offended while some have a sense of humour! But one thing’s for sure if you’re on the fence or simply don’t like him, Humanity is probably best avoided; it’s quite possibly his most brilliantly offensive work yet. It has everything, cot death jokes, a very long winded but ultimately hilarious bit about Caitlyn Jenner, plenty of talk about religion and of course plenty of uses of the C word! I laughed harder than I’ve laughed in a long time and it felt so good.
Ricky Gervais is hands down one of the funniest and smartest comedians right now and if more tour dates are added please get tickets! You won’t regret it.
Films and Things 