Jerry Sadowitz: Comedian. Magician. Psychopath.

Article by Bernard O'Leary | 08 Aug 2011

How do you solve a problem like Jerry Sadowitz? 26 years on he's still calling everything and everyone a fucking cunt. Political correctness has passed him by; gays and foreigners are part of everything, Sadowitz hates everything, so Sadowitz hates gays and foreigners.

This causes problems for liberal reviewers who have found it less acceptable as the years go by. Some have tried to justify it by saying Sadowitz is a character; he's not saying these things himself. Sadowitz quite brilliantly disproves this in a bit where he plays several new characters but continues swearing as normal.

The key to enjoying Sadowitz is to sit back and let the vitriol wash over you. It's strangely soothing. The fucks and cunts have a metronomic regularity; the hatred is evenly spread. It's an unstoppable torrent with too many victims to list and after a while it starts to work like a vaccine, like the hair of the dog. His pointless hate makes hate seem pointless, his anger is kind of relaxing.

And of course he's still a formidable comic talent who knows where the joke is in everything. Tramadol Nights may have dulled his ability to cause true outrage, but Sadowitz is still the king of the shock comics.

Jerry Sadowitz: Comedian. Magician. Psychopath. The Assembly Hall, August 5-14th, 9pm, £18.50/£19.50