Not many people can say they’ve debuted a comedy show at age 81. Self-proclaimed “sit-down tragic”, Jeff Stark, can, and he uses all his years of experience to craft an hour of comedy that is warmly endearing if slightly trite and plodding. His material comprises a guide on what it is to grow old. He uses anecdotes from his past to craft a comedic scrapbook of his funniest and most idiosyncratic memories of ageing. Because there will come a day when you look at a beige jumper with padded elbows and hand over your money, and you need Stark to guide you through it.
Some of his jokes feel tailored for the older crowd, such as a line about why go to the toilet when a nurse will come and wash you anyway, or a quip about enlarged prostates, but you don’t need lived experience to appreciate most of the ridiculous visual images he crafts. His ornate musings about a geriatric James Bond, a three-way involving Keir Starmer and Jacob Rees-Mogg, and heaven getting “quite good reviews” are a delight to behold. He does show his age at times, and after an aside about the elderly “caveman brain”, he drifts into boorish jokes about trans people; he also makes a bizarre and out-of-place joke about women in mixed-gender schools.
However, at its best, Jeff Stark’s show is a warmly intimate ride, filled with affable reminiscences and eccentric quips and visuals, at its worst it can feel tired and lacking momentum. Still, not bad for an 81-year-old newcomer.
Jeff Stark, Old Fart Gassing, 20:55, Greenside, until August 24.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/jeff-stark-old-fart-gassing
