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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Miles Jupp Is the Chap You're Thinking Of

Miles Jupp

Go Faster Stripe · 2015 · 1 h 42 min

A posh comic rants about dishwasher stacking and government policy.

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Miles Jupp builds this performance around a collision of middle-class domestic exasperation and sharp political venting. He positions himself as a prematurely aged father of four pre-school children, whom he designates his “infant captors,” struggling with pushchairs, sticky Weetabix, and the correct way to stack a dishwasher. He gets substantial mileage out of his own public-school decorum, whether he is recalling a teenager who looked at him as if he were reading the Spanish Shipping Forecast or detailing the horror of being confused on a train with Archie the Inventor from the children’s show Balamory.

Filmed at the Theatre Royal in Margate and released in 2015, the show caught Jupp at a major transition point in his career, just as he was taking over as the host of BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz. While the first half leans into observations about domestic life, the second half takes a sharp turn into politics. He skewers the coalition government’s “big society” and mocks media obsession with David Cameron eating a pasty, questioning if the state will eventually revive workhouses and brand them “Centres of Excellence”. The performance concludes with a chaotic, physical trouser-based farce that cuts right through his otherwise polite, buttoned-up demeanor.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Having all of his lines cut as a waiter in the film Sherlock Holmes

    Self-deprecatingly recounts discovering his lines were completely excised from the final film cut before the premiere.

  2. Parenting four young children and domestic chores

    Details the unglamorous realities of fatherhood, such as scraping Weetabix off crockery and finding faeces in unexpected places.

  3. Being recognized on the London Underground as Archie the Inventor from Balamory

    Examines identity and fame after encountering a young fan who could not separate the fictional children's TV persona from the real actor.

  4. State-of-the-nation political critique of the British government

    Subverts audience assumptions that his public-school background makes him a natural Conservative by sharply tearing into the government.

  5. Hospital visit resulting from a phone charger

    Explains how losing his temper over an obstructed cable resulted in the metal end whipping back and striking him in the eye.

How it plays

Tone
Self-deprecating, urbane, mildly indignant, and witty.
On stage
A tweed-wearing, mild-mannered 'young fogey' and self-deprecating posh boy with a deceptively waspish bite and flashes of sudden, spluttering rage.
Pace
Eloquent bumbling and calm, deliberate musings that escalate into theatrical, indignant outbursts over petty everyday annoyances.
About
Middle-class woes and etiquette, Fatherhood and domestic chaos, The British government and politics, Ageing and feeling out of touch, Public perception and fame

What the critics said

Received positive reviews praising Jupp's literate wit, polished delivery, and the balance between relatable domestic comedy and razor-sharp political commentary.

In the room: Appreciative crowds attuned to Radio 4 sensibilities and middle-class humor, receptive to both self-deprecation and waspish audience interactions.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, comedy.co.uk, en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com, the-independent.com, timeout.com, theartsdesk.com, talismanteas.com, theargus.co.uk, primevideo.com, amazon.co.uk.

Backstory

Adjusting to domestic life as a married father of four young children, having moved away from a bachelor lifestyle dominated by cricket.

Details

Released
Taped
Theatre Royal, Margate
Runtime
1 h 42 min
Where
Go Faster Stripe
Director
Craig Griffith
Topics
After
Is The Chap You're Thinking Of (2018)

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