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[title]Known for his triple Ds: deadpan delivery, dark humour and destroying hecklers on-stage – Brit comedy hero Jimmy Carr returns to our shores with a selection of his old-but-gold jokes and new material. Save his Netflix special Funny Business for a cosy day in and see the funny man live instead. But before strapping into your seat for clever punchlines, get to know the wisecracker with an infectious laugh. We chat with Jimmy Carr on the local quirks he finds hilarious, the type of quips to expect and another Netflix special we ought to save in our list.
Hi Jimmy! We're sure you're excited for your Singapore return. What are you looking forward to the most?
Always excited to come back to Singapore. It’s one of the best parts of my job really, experiencing different cultures and visiting beautiful places. The thing I look forward to most though, is definitely the shows; I am, at my core, a comedy fan and experiencing different audiences and getting to perform my jokes to people and make them laugh is always the highlight of any trip, wherever I happen to be.
You're rebooting some old-but-gold jokes as well as some new material, but what sort of new quips can we expect? Anything that might stir the Singapore audience?
Well there are some jokes about a recent visitor of yours with stupid hair and despotic tendencies. I’ll let you decide which one I’m talking about.
We can't help pointing out how infectious your laugh is, but how do you plan to keep repeated jokes refreshingly funny? Will they be updated or given new punchlines?
Not so much with this tour, as the idea is to truly pull together the hits and deliver them in one show. Don’t mess with classics. That said, I sometimes find a new angle on an old joke that takes it in another direction, or develop something short into a longer run of jokes. I’m always tinkering.
What helps you churn up new material?
It can be anything. A turn of phrase, an interesting fact. I’ll make a note in my phone and then get to work on making it joke-shaped. I love writing – it’s the best.
What kind of Singaporean quirks do you find funny?
I don’t know about funny, but it’s striking how clean and ordered Singapore is. Go through parts of London on a Friday night and it can be hard to tell whether Armageddon has struck or the pubs have just closed. You don’t really get that in Singapore.
How different is the Singapore crowd from the UK audience? Are there vastly different reactions?
Oh, I don’t think so. There might be certain cultural reference points that strike more of a chord with a UK audience, but I always feel like the Singapore crowds are very comedy literate and willing to go with most things. In general, I feel very lucky with my audience; wherever I am in the world, they seem to get what I’m trying to do.
Tell us this isn't your last comedy show – what's next for Jimmy Carr?
Oh no, definitely not. I have a few things in the pipeline – I have a new panel show coming out with Netflix called The Fix, which I’m incredibly excited about and we are filming a new series of Roast Battle UK, which has been incredibly popular. Beyond that, I’ll have a new tour show in the not too distant future. But yes, I love working and I can’t see myself stopping for a very long time.
Catch Jimmy Carr at the Kallang Theatre on September 13. Tickets are still available from $88 to $158 at all SISTIC ticketing outlets.