CJ – I checked, that is how he wants to be known by – draws on a wealth, a reservoir pool, of good material for a blistering 75-minute set that was right out to shock and raise a few eyebrows as all good ground-breaking comedy should do.
As a comic who enjoys the fact that he is gay, CJ started his set by coming on as a Pinocchio character that seemed a bit different but as a prop was used well to set the scene for the stand up that followed. I never knew Pinocchio had been such a naughty boy! CJ got the laughs.
His self-deprecatory style is not unusual but he makes it very personal, sharing with us his stories about liaisons – some good, some bad, some terrifying and some exceptionally funny. CJ’s delivery is smooth and rapid, and as a gay man he talks about cock, dick and arseholes which makes his observational humour relevant and ‘very now’ and on point.
CJ has written some good material which contains some golden nuggets of wisdom, very thought-provoking and he stresses opinions that make for robust and slightly anarchic comedy especially when performed in well-crafted rhyming couplets.
CJ’s use of props is well executed and acts as a tool to establish the hopeless romantic that forms part of his character. With the audience lapping it up, it was no surprise that his finale would be an energetic humdinger ending with a pure burst of energy as Woody the Cowboy from Toy Story was given human life. Side-splittingly funny!
The one-man show is called The Art of Fitting Out, and CJ actually fits in very well and so should go far on the comedy circuit if, as I hope, he is given the opportunity to do so.
Photos by Drew Augustus
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The Art of Fitting Out by CJ Hopkins was reviewed on Friday 4th March at the The Two Brewers, 114 Clapham High Street, London SW4 7UJ.
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