Miles Jupp: Everyday Rage and Dinner Party Chit Chat

Miles Jupp has found a highly effective technique for wrong-footing his critics: about half-way through his set, during a routine about shouting at a waiter in Pizza Hut, Jupp has said waiter exclaim, "Please speak more slowly! Look at the reviews!" Since the excessive speed, combined with the slightly monotonous rhythm of his delivery is the only substantial problem I have with this otherwise very proficient and frequently very funny gig, Jupp has pretty well succeeded in taking the wind out of my sails.

The set revolves around Jupp’s "intermittent rage disorder," a condition which apparently causes him to have occasional "flash tantrums" when something mildly irritating happens. It’s a clever way of framing good, old-fashioned observational material about the absurd frustrations of everyday life, albeit with the added fun of imagining such a nice, well-spoken young man really fly off the handle. Jupp has a great eye for detail that allows him to draw a huge amount from some very simple set-ups. The Pizza Hut anecdote, for example, is pure joy, even though all that really happens is the dropping of a plate.

Whilst most of the anecdotes are great, they are all structurally pretty similar, leaving somewhat of a dearth of variety by the end of the gig. Luckily, Jupp is right on hand with some "cheese-based puns," the last of which is worth the admission price alone. He could stand to lose some bad habits, but Jupp is a hugely promising talent.