Review: Jez Watts at The Balmoral Hotel
Jez Watts: Jokes About Sex & Death (And No Other Topics) at The Balmoral Hotel
Saturday, February 17, 2024
People who find humour in sex and death can be hard to please; even the morbid and the horny have some sense of morality. However, it turns out some people don’t heed warnings from literal show titles. Past experiences had made comedian Jez Watts feel it was necessary to take the stage with a cold opening, warning people of what was to come. He explained his reasoning for this with the tale of an elderly couple who attended one of his previous shows, leading to an argument between the two.
His retreat to the rear of the small upstairs room at The Balmoral for his introduction gave the show a DIY quality, going in with only his humour to impress. We were very quickly introduced to his fiancé, Nicole, a Shanghai-born veterinarian who was probably honoured to be featured so predominantly in a show revolving around sex and death, especially if his recounted antics were true. Although it was also revealed that veterinarians make more money than comedians, she probably approved all the material.
Watts’ routine was delivered with buzzing energy; it seemed only a small fragment of his thoughts on any topic discussed came out, meandering at a blistering pace. For a man who was still alive and maybe didn’t have Gene Simmons’ level of lovers, he was able to find relevance to the theme in an eclectic range of topics, from his time in the army to Singaporean chilli crab.
The DIY setup proved fitting as the rising comedian revealed a television special of his comedic stylings was in the works. Jez took road-testing to the next level, showing a willingness to take risks on boundaries and even showing humility when even the horny and morbid audience had to question some of the content, turning The Balmoral into the ‘Bal-immoral’ at times.
Jez Watts is probably the only person in show business whose real name is more ridiculous than his stage name, Jez Whiterice Supreme, complete with documentation to prove it. The reasoning behind the name change was equally absurd, involving a shotgun wedding in Las Vegas and a large amount of psychedelic drugs—a story worthy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. There’s almost a redemptive quality in someone who does something so stupid before going into a career in comedy.
The only part of his routine that seemed a little overused was self-deprecating humour, often thrown in after a genuinely good joke, dragging it on just a touch too long. While effectively and honestly poking fun at his indiscretions, Jez Watts (AKA Mr. Supreme) showed enough comedic skill to not have to rely on drawing out his imperfections.
AJ MAHAR