Jimmy Carr: Terribly Funny, Birmingham Symphony Hall - review

In true form, there was nothing off limits in his new show, Terribly Funny, as political correctness was left at the door.

There was hardly a spare seat at Birmingham Symphony Hall last night as fans flocked to see the comedian, known for his TV appearances on shows like 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Your Face or Mine?

As he puts it himself, his new show contains jokes about all kinds of terrible things, but they’re just jokes – they are not the terrible things.

His edginess knows no bounds and among those in the firing line were Piers Morgan, Donald Trump, Posh and Becks and the royal family.

His jibes at millennials at the start of the second half of the show was a particular crowd pleaser.

He had the audience laughing at everything from coronavirus to his own tax affairs – with some subjects close to the bone and even cringeworthy.

There were plenty of one-liners, as you’d expect, and in between there was time to poke fun at audience members who were vegans, divorcees and even someone who rivalled his own distinctive laugh.

People’s mums in the audience were also not off limits and one quip you can only imagine made a woman’s teenage son sat next to her at the show regret his heckle.

Birmingham didn’t escape either, as he joked about why the council had decided to dig up all the streets at once.

There were heckles galore and that is really where he came into his own; bantering with the audience really saw his energy and quick wit shine.

The show lasted about two hours and members of the audience were invited to text him throughout, with the messages shared on a big screen at the end when Jimmy showed off some of his favourites – a mixture of people’s own jokes and one-liners.

He may seem edgy if you’ve watched him on TV, but on the small screen he’s comparatively tame.

So as for the title of his new tour, Terribly Funny? There were parts that really shone, I wouldn’t say terribly, but it was pretty good.