Chris
Gibbs is a dad now. If anyone's more fortunate than little
Beckett, who has a very smart and caring father, it's us.
Gibbs' hour of observations about his first two years of fatherhood
is as clever and funny a show as you'll see at this festival.
I won't spoil the show-opening vignette. Suffice it to say,
I've never seen anyone use a John Williams score and a black
coat to more humorous effect.
What separates Gibbs from other comedians is his incredible
nimbleness. He's able to take an everyday observation, flip
it around, take it to its ludicrous 'nth degree, find connections
to elements we've already seen in the show, with a bare minimum
of words and time.
He avoids cliches; his material is intensely personal. And
he makes excellent use of self-deprecation (though I doubt
he'd say so).
Who else could tell you the potential child development pitfalls
of pretending toy dinosaurs sing opera, rather than roar?
A thoroughly entertaining and hilarious show that has my highest
recommendation.
(5 stars)
Dean
Jenkinson, CBC
You could call
the English-born actor/playwright Chris Gibbs a standup and
get away with it. He is, after all, very funny. But you’d
be selling far short the sly way Gibbs, or his “Chris
Gibbs” persona, owns his observations by channelling
them through this slightly addled, tentative, self-mocking
stage self.
We’ve met him before, in Antoine Feval and The Power
of Ignorance, with their dim but earnest narrators. This time,
he’s back as Chris Gibbs, the English emigre comic who’s
produced a new Canadian. Yup, he’s a dad, with a son
named Beckett. These things are true, of course. But what
makes Like Father, Like Son? Sorry more than a smart guy’s
collection of wry, witty insights into parenting is the way
they come to us.
The man onstage is an endearingly hapless quester, constantly
reassessing his personal experience, having second thoughts
and going off on hilarious tangents. That’s the way
the mind works. It’s a bemused free-range intelligence;
it roves and returns carrying apologies. Having Beckett fascinates
and scares it. This is the comedy of train-of-thought derailments.
That’s why the anecdote about Gibbs’s previous
life as an “overweight acrobat” is so funny. That’s
why Gibbs
desperately ransacks movies for insights, and ponders the
immigrant experience. “I can’t be a father; I’m
me.” And that Me isn’t really 39; he’s “been
a 13-year-old for 26 years.” Gibbs’s analysis
of what it means to be pathologically shy and a man having
a conversation about fatherhood with 150 people is not to
be missed. This may not be “a play.” But it speaks
to the heart of theatre.
(4 1/2 stars)
Liz
Nicholls, Edmonton Journal
This year, as always,
thousands of Fringers will seek out Chris Gibbs.
The dapper and genial English pixie is consistently one of
the funniest comics on the Fringe circuit and by now audiences
know it. His act is one of the few that can leave an audience
convulsed with laughter as he pyramids joke on joke.
I don’t know if there are any tickets left, but, if
there are, they won’t last long.
If you’ve seen any of his previous shows (Antoine Feval/The
Power of Ignorance) you know what I’m saying.
Gibbs is not a pie-in-the-face vaudevillian. There’s
always a cleverness and intelligence about his shows. He offers
some sort of plot device — this one called, Like Father,
Like Son? Sorry is about the terrors of being a new dad. But
that is just the bare bones for 75 minutes of free-flight
hilarity and comic digression.
He has a playful, self-deprecating manner about him. You want
to run up and give him a hug, but don’t dare. In fact,
hold still, hold very, very still because if you attract any
manner of attention, you could become part of the act.
When someone left his show the other night, he observed, “Oh
good. Now I can bring out the good stuff.”
Gibbs has the ability to tell a joke, generate a laugh and
then continue only to return later and top the same joke.
At times, the yuks come so fast, and you are laughing so hard,
you wish you could buy the CD and run it again.
His rabbity mind jumps between Star Trek, Superman, Batman
and having babies. He does a credible Marlon Brando and an
even better Sean Connery.
“Everything I know about childbirth I learned at the
movies,” he observes.
“Such as, half of all babies are born in taxicabs.”
He later hilariously describes the birth of his son. He wonders
how a comic would do on the Titanic and describes his own
funeral where he plans to plant a tape machine in his casket
that says things like, “Joke’s over now. Let me
out.”
(At least I think that’s what he said. He talks faster
than I can take notes.)
But you can’t recreate on paper Gibbs’s comic
delivery or his effect on his appreciative audiences.
You have to see it to believe it.
(4 1/2 stars)
Colin
McLean, Edmonton Sun
Not many actors
can engage in a meandering, loosely-scripted performance and
have it go smashingly well, but Fringe veteran Chris Gibbs
does just that. Delving into a tangential collection of personal
stories and anecdotes loosely centered around the topic of
fatherhood, Gibbs manages to string together a cohesive narrative
that is self-deprecatingly cheeky but also honest and fresh—not
an easy feat given that the subject at hand isn’t exactly
new to the stage. Gibbs’ showmanship is always entertaining
and this year’s performance does not disappoint. Equally
impressive is the show’s broad appeal: parents (especially
new ones) will enjoy it for an empathetic voice, while others
will appreciate the perspective it provides on one’s
own childhood experiences.
(5 stars)
Mel
Priestley, Vue Weekly, Edmonton
Those
who couldn't afford the big bucks to see U.K. comic Eddie
Izzard last week might be in luck.
Chris Gibbs, a
lesser-known but similarly hugely talented British funnyman,
gives his final performance of Like Father, Like Son? Sorry
at Uno Fest on Saturday. Like Izzard, Gibbs is a free-form
laugh riot, tearing from topic to topic with amphetamine-fast
speed and an indefatigable eye for the absurd. The $15 tickets
are a great bargain (get there early, or buy in advance online
at intrepidtheatre.com).
Unlike another
fine Gibbs solo piece, The Power of Ignorance, this one is
mostly autobiographical. Like Father, Like Son? Sorry is based
on his experiences as a new dad. Don't expect Bill Cosby comfort
food, though.
True, some touch
points are familiar: Caesarean versus vaginal births, acclimatizing
oneself to parenthood, the role of dads versus moms. But Gibbs
-- again, like Izzard -- is uninterested in massaging platitudes.
Instead, he'll riff on what's considered unmentionable, at
least in bourgeois society. Gibbs discusses his newborn's
disappointment when, holding him to his chest, the baby attempts
to nurse on his dry, hairy nipple. Later on, he muses on the
spookiness of his youngster's habit of speaking aloud at night
in his sleep.
The comic's tremendous
energy and wit sweeps the audience along like a heady drug.
Gibbs has a sly, goofily self-deprecating style that recalls
Hugh Laurie (not the House Hugh Laurie, the Black Adder Hugh
Laurie). There's an existential funkiness to his perspective
(he named his kid Beckett) that's awfully appealing. He also
displays an honesty typical of top-echelon comedians, an ability
to sift through the dross of societal convention.
Gibbs concludes
on a note that, in less skilled hands, might be sentimental.
It's not, though. We were left amused and exhilarated.
Rating: 4 1/2
Victoria
Times Colonist
Over
the past seven years, the name of Chris Gibbs on a Fringe
show has been a guarantee that you're going to get quality.
He's one of the most uniquely persuasive solo performers around,
achieving his results with a combination of verbal erudition
(his British heritage) and diffident charm (thanks to his
adopted country, Canada).
Again, unlike many
mission-track artists, Gibbs doesn't always stick to the subject
he's originally announced, but weaves in and out of it before
finally returning to home base, kind of like a tour guide
with ADD.
All this holds
true for his latest show, Like Father, Like Son? Sorry. Although
claiming to be an examination of his paternal feelings since
the birth of his son in 2007, it also manages to be an exploration
of the Superman myth, pop heroes in general, the perils of
being overweight, the complexities of marriage, what it's
like to struggle with a form of TB and other garden variety
issues.
It's all fresh,
it's all funny, it's presented with wit and style and it proves
once again that Chris Gibbs is the Steve Jobs of Fringe comedy:
always coming up with something new that manages to be good
as well.
Highly Recommended
Richard
Ouzounian, Toronto Star
Taking a break from fiction, Chris Gibbs’ performs a
welcome reprise of his 2009 Fringe Hit about the birth of
his son. Gibbs is a master of the humour of self-consciousness,
using digressions within digressions, asides within asides,
to highlight his supposedly numerous failings while they simultaneously
reveal his abundant wit.
Here, Gibbs frets
about the possible negative influence a socially awkward,
dog-fearing ex-street performer like himself may have upon
the developing psyche of his son. In this he contrasts completely
with the portentous Jor-El, who launches the infant Superman
into space in the 1978 movie Gibbs so hilariously mimics.
Gibbs is one of
our great comics. If you missed him last July, be sure to
see him now.
(4 stars)
Christopher
Hoile, Eye Weekly
A
Toronto Fringe Festival without a Chris Gibbs show would be
like a Harold Pinter play without pauses: totally unthinkable.
His new stand-up comedy set about becoming a parent, Like
Father, Like Son? Sorry., clearly has some structural kinks
that need to be ironed out — but as usual with Gibbs,
the improvisations, digressions, stumbles and dead-ends are
as much part of the fun as his central narrative. Those kinks
are there for a reason. Besides, laugh-for-laugh, Like Father
(which features some of Gibbs's darkest, most personal material
to date) is as funny as any show he's produced. Highly recommended.
(5 stars)
Paul
Isaacs, Eye Weekly
Becoming
a father has made Fringe veteran Chris Gibbs examine what
he’s inherited from his parents and what he may pass
on to his son. The result goes way beyond navel-gazing to
ask profound (and very funny) questions about life, death
and Star Trek, all delivered in Gibbs’s genial, self-effacing
manner. Gibbs draws on some great pop culture father-son references
but can also find the funny in the darkest corner, like wherever
his own difficult parents are located. And there are a couple
of great doctor stories. Because of Gibbs’s improv skills,
expect a somewhat different (but no less hilarious) set of
tales each time.
(4 stars)
Glenn
Sumi, Now
Now
based in Toronto with his Canadian wife, the British comedian
Chris Gibbs has been domesticated, though his imagination
remains untamed.
The 40-ish performer,
a longtime favourite on the fringe circuit, is back with an
hour-long monologue about becoming a father. With his fast-talking
and subject-changing delivery, combined with his penchant
for working clean, he’s an affable Ricky Gervais crossed
with Jerry Seinfeld.
His subject matter
tends toward the banal, but his nuanced humour comes less
from the topics he addresses than from his wacky asides, followed
by more asides piled on asides.
He wears an ultra-stylish
Superman sweatshirt, and his only props are a baby doll and
his son’s stuffed toy, "Nancy the bipolar bear."
The jokes come
so fast you could miss a third of them while you’re
laughing. Imagine the material Gibbs will have when that little
rubber doll learns to walk and talk.
(4 stars)
Morley Walker, Winnipeg Free Press
Honestly,
a 150 word review can't do Chris Gibbs' show justice. Gibbs
returns to Winnipeg with a side-splitting tale of fatherhood.
From Superman to slippers and C-sections to acrobatics, Gibbs'
comedy is unparallelled. His observations about what it means
to be a parent are honest, funny but above all, true and had
me howling with laughter for the entire hour. If you haven't
experienced Chris perform, this year's show is your chance
to correct that.
Rating A
Liz
Hover, Uptown Magazine
Like
Father Like Son? Sorry is Chris Gibbs' latest stand-up comedy
routine, a brand new show with all new material drawn mostly
from his experiences as a new father. There isn't much you
can say about Gibbs' comedy style that hasn't been said already
- not truthfully that is. With his keen wit and unparalleled
comic timing, Gibbs' shows are sure fire comedy and this particular
show is no exception. Here Gibbs is at the top of his game,
delivering what might well be his funniest stand up show ever,
which for Gibbs is really saying something. His grand entrance
alone is worth the price of admission. His observations about
parenting are off the wall and original and had the audience
laughing for the full sixty minutes.
In addition to having excellent material, Gibbs is also one
of the best in the business at taking chance comments from
the audience and using his keen wit to make up something funny
on the spot. A good example of this occurred the night I attended
the show. Sitting in the front row, a friend I saw the show
with quietly remarked that the doll Gibbs brought on stage
looked creepy. Like a cat Gibbs pounced on this remark, lining
up the doll's eyes so that they were staring right at her
and then moving it closer to her a couple of times during
the show, setting the audience roaring.
Don't miss this
show unless you don't like laughing your head off for sixty
minutes.
Terry
Moor, UMFM
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