In my humble opinion, Chris Gibbs is quite simply the most solid bang for your comedy buck going. This Brit-turned-Canuck packs as many big laughs per minute into his hour-and-a-quarter standup show as anyone.

Is it "about something?" Not really. Gibbs talks about Canada, being a British immigrant, his dad's funeral, and sympathy cards, among other things. He also does some funny balloon animals, performs some improbable acrobatics, and muses over some props he brought along.

On paper that might not sound like a five-star show, but believe me when I tell you - if you ask me "I want to see something funny; what should I see?" ... this is the show.

Funny, funny, funny.

(5 stars)

Dean Jenkinson, CBC (reviewed at 2010 Winnipeg Fringe)

Oh, where to begin? At the beginning, I suppose… let me explain… Chris Gibbs is a transplanted Brit, a talented improviser, acrobat, street performer, actor and comedian who does and says funny things in hilariously self-deprecating fashion. He comes on in suit-and-tie, admits his fondness for chocolate cake and, just when you think he’s sincerely explaining what’s about to happen, he’s actually doing it, with laugh-riot results. And that’s his magic. Gibberish is a remounted (though thoroughly updated) version of a one-man show that won Best of the Fringe honours here in 2002 and it’s basically a tour-de-force presentation of all the man’s talents — bumbling self-mockery, ridiculously clownish physical comedy and an extremely keen observational wit (wait for his bit on the French word for ‘bats’). Don’t miss it.

A+

John Kendle, Uptown Magazine (reviewed at 2010 Winnipeg Fringe)

This re-staging (and refreshing) of fringe fave Chris Gibbs’ 2002 show still packs a punch.

As with much of Gibbs’ standup, it’s a show about nothing and everything, a blend of physical comedy, absurd humour and just plain silliness. In less gifted hands, this would be a calamity, but the Toronto-based Gibbs has the comedic chops and confidence (or lack thereof, as he would tell it) to make it work.

It’s probably best not to over-analyze, but tales of his dead dad on an airplane, immigrating to Canada, and his hatred for sympathy cards, coupled with terrible balloon animals and a potato ricer, are just superb fun. Not to mention the excellent form of his acrobatics; Gibbs’ skill as physical comedian is sublime.

Gibbs may wonder aloud how he’s gone from wannabe to has-been, but his audience knows that’s just poppycock.

(4 stars)

Barb Stewart, Winnipeg Free Press (reviewed at 2010 Winnipeg Fringe)

That's gibberish with hard "g" – as in Chris Gibbs, an English expat who's made Toronto home. His one-man show has earned a well-deserved reputation on the fringe circuit for keeping audiences laughing pretty much non-stop.
Looking like the archetypical Brit in a conservative olive green business suit and tie, Gibbs opens the show by performing some truly impressive physical stunts before huffing and sweating his way through a strong hour-long routine that touches a range of unexpectedly hilarious topics, including German accents, sympathy cards, "inbred" royalty and the Toronto Maple Leaves (which is, after all, more grammatically sound). Deliberately tentative and twitchy, and darkly gleeful at times, his hand-wringing style and sotto voce asides are comic stand-up gold.

(Highly Recommended)

Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star

Gibberish is comic genius

Hoopal is back. Well, the Chris Gibbs half of the comic duo that has convulsed us for years at the Fringe is back. The other half is not here because, well, he doesn’t like you, we are solemnly assured by the remaining Hoopal. Gibbs does a stand-up routine unlike any other. He spends most of his act apologizing for jokes that are just not working - except that they are hilarious.

He bounces about the stage looking pained and embarrassed and explaining, at great length, why he is doing what he’s doing and why he doesn’t hold out much hope that anything is going to work. He tells us he got his start on the street creating balloon animals and begins to make one for us. It is, of course, the wrong kind of balloon and the result is a big round shape with a dangly thing for blowing it up that looks like no animal Mother Nature ever designed. Gibbs charges manfully ahead, mumbling something about an octopus with only one tentacle.

He promises he won’t single individuals out of the audience by singling an individual out of the audience, and says that he won’t try to pretend that his material was especially written for Edmonton but still manages to get the Mall and other local landmarks into the monologue. In an effort to be different from other stand-ups, he reverses the technique and says he will try to improvise a tragedy. With props. And audience participation. It’s a sad little effort. But funny.

There is nothing like Hoopal. Even when there is only one of them.

Colin Maclean, Edmonton Sun

In his program entry of approximately fifty words, Chris Gibbs uses the word hilarious no less than seven times. Funny. And very accurate.
Gibberish is as sure a bet as you can make. Other comedy shows are as funny, but few have the universal appeal Gibbs does. There was a unanimity in the audience's response to Gibbs that I've yet to see elsewhere. It's a tight, charming, winning hour that doesn't need to be about something to earn my highest recommendation.

In a word, hilarious.

(5 Stars)

Dean Jenkinson, CBC

Chris Gibbs is likely best known as one-half of the funny and perpetually sold-out British comedy duo Hoopal. This year his solo act may surpass expectations as fans come to see exactly what he can do on his own.

For one thing, he's his own warm up act. (Look for feet onstage while waiting for the show to start). He's also packing some physical comedy, a great balloon trick and a few distraction plans in case a joke bombs. Gibbs reveals the comedic devices he uses to build a show and practices some positive reinforcement techniques on the audience.

Self-effacing jokes abound here as Gibbs elicits sympathy and laughter simultaneously. He also tests out the Macbeth curse and leads the crowd in an exploration of the tragic side of improv.

What more could you want in a 55 minute comedy show? Not much actually, so strap on your heckling shoes (don't worry, he encourages it) and head for the Planetarium.

(4 Stars)

Anna Lazowski, CBC

Any fears that Hoopal’s Chris Gibbs wouldn’t be as funny without his red-headed sidekick Peter Mielniczek were swiftly allayed in the first 10 seconds of this hilarious exercise in mock self-deprecation. One part pseudo-stand-up, one part physical comedy (Gibbs’ cocked eyebrow can elicit a laugh, let alone his acrobatics), one part meta-theatre, one part absolute absurdity (and not in the egg-headed Theatre of the Absurd sense, but in the sense of sheer silliness), Gibberish is pure, plotless comedy. It goes to great lengths to make the audience excruciatingly aware that it’s not about anything - and that’s precisely why it’s so effin’ funny.

(A)

Jill Wilson, Uptown Magazine

By all rights Gibberish, featuring only one member of the London comedy duo Hoopal, should be only half as funny as previous fringe offerings. Chris Gibbs is on his own this year (Peter Mielniczek is not here because he just doesn’t like you, the audience is told.) But the entertainment sees no fall-off in hilarity.
Gibbs is in fine form, both comically and physically, as his spectacular, impressive opening will attest. Never one to follow the crowd, Gibbs is the first on the fringe to break away from the improv comedy pack and offer improv tragedy. With suggestions from the eager audience and such props as a vacuum cleaner hose and a handleless rake, he’ll induce tears of laughter.

(4 1/2 Stars)

Kevin Prokosh, Winnipeg Free Press

Inevitably, just as you think you've figured out the rules of what works, someone like Chris Gibbs shows up with Gibberish and breaks them all.

There is a moment in Gibberish when Chris Gibbs misquotes the national anthem. It's a throwaway line, but what happens next is pure genius. As the show continues, you start searching subconsciously for the actual line. Then, in turn, everyone gets the giggles. It's comedy dominoes, falling through the crowd until even the people who let the joke pass them by are scrambling to be included in the laugh.

Gibbs has figured out what many shows could stand to learn: If you keep insisting you're funny, we won't want to laugh, but if you leave room for us to laugh, we won't want to stop.

Jodi Essery, The Hour, Montreal

So, um, yeah, I saw this show yesterday... and I think it was about Canadian anthem, sympathy cards and galvanized buckets. Or was it about self-help books and how to inspire people to go after their dreams by stuffing large balloons under your jacket? Anyhow, whatever it was about, it sure had this reviewer in stitches. Chris Gibbs' utterly and delightfully plotless stand-up comedy is among the best stuff you'll experience at this Fringe festival. There isn't much more to say about this one-man show except to urge you to go see it. Go! See it! It rocks!

BlogTO