Jason Pestell Jumps The Shark
Live Review

Jason Pestell is the first to admit that he didn’t really know what the phrase ‘jumps the shark’ actually meant when he titled this show, confusing it for a defining, often heroic, moment in life – rather than its usual interpretation of a point when something good is ruined forever.

Apart from the negative connotations, the misunderstanding also means the use of the phrase as a thread through the show doesn’t come off. This is, really, just an hour of unconnected stand-up – no shame in that – but trying to justify each routine as being an example of ‘jumping the shark’ turns out clunky.

It’s unfortunate, because the one thing Adelaide-based Pestell isn’t, is clunky. He has an unhurried delivery with an underlying calmness, perhaps born from his time as a teacher. A smallish audience of well-behaved early-evening festival-goers is surely a breeze compared to the classroom.

The material is more hit-and-miss, however, with the feeling this is as decent 15-minute routine stretched rather too thin, and with plenty of jokes containing the germ of a good idea that hadn’t yet been honed by the erosive effects of audience response.

Pestell loves a good pun, and indeed a bad one, contriving a set-up that lets him have the punchline ‘veal or no veal’, for example. But while that one is painfully obvious, others prove too obtuse for general consumption, even if there’s a clever idea at their core. A couple of times he had to explain, tongue in cheek, ‘the reason you’re not laughing is…’

There are some engaging stories of his own misfortunes, from run-ins with a staple gun to attempt to break his primary school’s monkey-bar leaping record. He’s an affable personality, and these yarns flow well, if lacking the killer bite that would make them stand-out routines.

The result is an amiable enough hour of friendly, conversational material, not strong enough to make him stand out from scores of similarly competent shows across the festival, nor weak enough to feel you’ve wasted your time. A sorbet for the comedy palette.