CityLife

Jeff Dunham

Jeff Dunham

Jeff Dunham
Apollo
April 23, 2010

It's a funny thing, humour - not everybody gets the joke.

But when you are a working comedian and had more than 200 million YouTube hits, it is safe to assume the public get it.

And the Apollo was packed for American ventriloquist and comic Jeff Dunham's one-man show.

Although Dunham’s gift is that he does not appear to be alone on stage, as he 'brings to life' an assortment of puppets, including grumpy old Walter; Achmed the skeletal dead terrorist; purple monkey-like 'woozle' Peanut; white trash Bubba J; and Jose the Jalapeno.

And his range of voices, rapid shift of character and witty, quickfire repartee is the hallmark of his huge talent.

He works the puppets so well that a mere shift of their eyebrows or a slow movement of their eyes can illicit laughter.

On the subject front, few were spared during the evening from the Irish to the Jews, Scots and Muslims - and some of the act was extreme but funny.

Achmed - a suicide bomber - said the most enjoyable part of the tour so far was the visit to Sheffield’s mosque.

“You mean the cathedral,” replied Dunham.

“It was the cathedral! And I wasn’t molested!” Achmed proclaimed.

Dunham’s popularity was evident when he brought out Bubba J for an encore and told the audience he had been so underused on the tour that he needed a prompt sheet.

He need not have worried as the crowd knew the routine by heart and shouted back the replies rather than wait for Bubba J.

Dunham seemed genuinely surprised his act was so well known. And his night was capped with a standing ovation.

“I’ll buy that DVD,” said one of the audience as he left. He could borrow it from millions.

The Jeff Dunham phenomena shows no sign of abating.