{"id":311,"date":"2023-02-10T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=311"},"modified":"2023-02-21T14:13:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T14:13:26","slug":"review-james-acaster-please-heckle-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/blog\/review-james-acaster-please-heckle-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: James Acaster: Please Heckle Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Written by Hope White-Heath and translated by Iwan Thomas<\/span>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Scroll for Welsh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

On September 30th<\/sup> and October 1st<\/sup>\nJames Acaster performed 2 sets in the Arts Centre. It felt like seeing 2\ndifferent Comedians<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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If you know James Acaster, you know how he is constantly\nevolving. He must be. Especially, considering how popular he is today. Both his\nFriday and Saturday shows were packed, it was possibly the busiest I\u2019ve seen anywhere\nin Aberystwyth ever. Each one of his comedy shows have been extremely different\nfrom the last. But in the show, he\u2019s currently performing, Acaster\u2019s persona is\ncertainly at the most introspective his audience has seen him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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This juxtaposition of a light, whimsical outer layer mixed\nwith a meatier, contemplative self is at the heart of Acaster\u2019s work. His new\nshow \u2018Please Heckle Me\u2019 marries these two aspects of his comedy perfectly. One\nof the first bits he did was all about how his therapist told him the set was a\ngreat idea. It shows self-introspection within stand-up that the audience is\nnot normally afforded. Of course, this directive to heckle leaves Acaster with\nwiggle room to make the more playful jokes that some of his audience knows him\nfor. Acaster is also well known for his \u2018Off Menu\u2019 podcast with Ed Gamble.\nWithin this podcast, it is clear Gamble functions as the straight man for\nAcaster\u2019s more eccentric role<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Most of Acaster\u2019s audience, like myself, seem to know that\nhis stand up is at its funniest when existing in the grey area between light and\ndark. However, there are those who require black or white. The majority of\nheckles Acaster got seemed to be those craving Acaster at his quirkiest.\nScreaming inside jokes from his podcast like, \u2018POPPADOMS OR BREAD\u2019 and \u2018DO A\nRANT ABOUT CHEESEBOARDS\u2019. Shoutout to the Taskmaster society who shouted down\nto James that they, \u2018had his Lord and Saviour Greg Davies\u2019 it was a pity he\ncouldn\u2019t see the life-size cardboard cut-out of this \u2018Lord and Saviour. His\nFriday show quickly became something no-one in the Arts Centre was expecting, including\nAcaster who revelled in the newness of the experience. Someone heckled who\nseemed to be more on the contemplative side of the Acaster scale. Her name was\nChris and she was amazing. There was another character called Steve who jumped\nin right out of the gate with a heckle of, \u2018Aber loves twinks\u2019. He continued\nheckling these artfully crafted phrases until Chris responded with, \u2018They all\njust want their five minutes of fame\u2019. She quickly became the antagonist of the\npiece. People were booing and heckling her. Acaster absolutely loved her, I\nimagine he doesn\u2019t meet many people like Chris on this tour. It was a great\nnight of what felt like a funnier and more disorientating Jeremy Kyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The second night was utterly different. In total, there were\nabout four heckles. Surprising when contrasted with the millions the night\nbefore. I could put it down to the time: nine in the evening <\/span>on the Friday and\nhalf six on the Saturday. It\u2019s safe to say a lot of people were pissed out of\ntheir mind on the Friday, aiding their confidence to derail the show. About five minutes into the Saturday set, Acaster had done\nall the material he was able to get through the day before. I was gladI went\nto the Saturday show, as always, he was hilarious, but it felt like the audience\ngot to spend more time with Acaster himself rather than Chris, Steve or the\nTaskm<\/span>a<\/span><\/span>ster society. The highlights have to be the flashbacks to his younger\nyears. These merged his<\/span> unconventional, lighter humour with more serious\ntopics. He talked about his first time on stage: when his Grandmother came into\nhis school to demonstrate how to use a spinning wheel. He cried because he was\nnot picked to try it out at the end so then, out of pity, he was bought on\nstage and sat on his Grandmother\u2019s lap. This image is an upsetting one, a young\nboy sobbing on his Grandma\u2019s lap in front of his classmates. The way it was\ndescribed had everyone in laughing fits. He coupled the absurd image of the\nspinning wheel with the lonely image of his younger self so well. Acaster then\nwent on to talk about how his therapist told him that whenever he is on stage,\nhe is carrying that boy with him, and he should protect him. This led to a joke\nthat perfectly encapsulated this new show. In one of the rare heckles on\nSaturday, someone called out, \u2018DO A POSE\u2019 which Acaster instantly obliged,\nposing like a body builder to show off his muscles. He then pointed to the back\nof the stage and retorted, \u2018the boy\u2019s posing too\u2019 Acaster then posed as a star\nfish to let the audience in on what he was seeing. Bringing this lonely boy to\nthe table with such a light-hearted joke, somehow made it funnier.<\/span><\/p>

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It is probably clear that I think James Acaster has a hard\ntask in front of him, working to live in the grey of his comedy. He is still\nrefining this, and I think that job will never be complete. Some of his\naudience will always be wanting either version of extreme from him, something\nwhich he is not. If his new tour demonstrates anything, it\u2019s that he is willing\nto tackle this head on. It also shows an impressive versatility, being able to\nmould the show to the atmosphere of the audience that night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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I went to the toilet after the Saturday gig. I ran into\nthese two ladies talking about how funny it was. One of them interrupted and\nsaid, \u2018I just want to give him a big hug\u2019 to which the other replied, \u2018and a\nbig snog too\u2019. As reactions to stand-ups go, I think that\u2019s not bad<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

<\/span><\/span>Adolygiad o James <\/span>Acaster<\/span>: <\/span><\/span>Please<\/span> <\/span>Heckle<\/span> <\/span>Me<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Ar y 30ain Medi a<\/span>\u2019r<\/span> 1af Hydref perfformiodd James <\/span>Acaster<\/span> ddwy sioe yng Nghanolfan y Celfydd<\/span>yd<\/span>au. Roedd yn teimlo fel pe bawn i\u2019n gweld dau ddigrifwr gwahanol.<\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Os ydych chi\u2019n adnabod James <\/span>Acaster<\/span>, rydych chi\u2019n gwybod sut mae\u2019n esblygu\u2019n gyson. Rhaid iddo. Yn enwedig o ystyried pa mor boblogaidd ydyw heddiw. Roedd ei sioeau dydd Gwener a dydd Sadwrn dan ei sang, o bosib y prysuraf i mi weld erioed yn unrhyw le yn Aberystwyth. Mae pob un o\u2019i sioeau comedi wedi bod yn hynod wahanol i\u2019r olaf. Ond yn y sioe mae\u2019n perfformio ar hyn o bryd, <\/span>persona<\/span> <\/span>Acaster<\/span> yn sicr yw\u2019r mwyaf mewnblyg y mae ei gynulleidfa wedi\u2019i weld.<\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Mae\u2019r cyfosodiad hwn o haen allanol ysgafn, mympwyol wedi\u2019i chymysgu \u00e2 hunan fwy cignoeth, myfyriol wrth wraidd gwaith <\/span>Acaster<\/span>. Mae ei sioe newydd \u2018<\/span><\/span>Please<\/span> <\/span>Heckle<\/span> <\/span>Me<\/span><\/span>\u2019 yn cyfuno\u2019r ddwy agwedd yma o\u2019i gomedi yn berffaith. Un o\u2019r darnau cyntaf a wnaeth oedd sut y dywedodd ei therapydd wrtho fod y set yn syniad gwych. Mae\u2019n dangos hunan-ddealltwriaeth o fewn <\/span>stand-<\/span>up<\/span><\/span> na roddir i\u2019r gynulleidfa fel arfer. Wrth gwrs, mae\u2019r <\/span>awgrym hwn i groesawu<\/span> heclo yn <\/span>gadael i<\/span> <\/span>Acaster<\/span> <\/span>greu lle i <\/span>wneud y j\u00f4cs mwy chwareus y mae rhai o\u2019i <\/span>gynulleidfa<\/span> yn adnabod amdano. Mae <\/span>Acaster<\/span> hefyd yn adnabyddus am ei <\/span>bodlediad<\/span> \u2018<\/span><\/span>Off<\/span> <\/span>Menu<\/span><\/span>\u2019 gydag <\/span>Ed<\/span> <\/span>Gamble<\/span>. <\/span>Yn <\/span>y <\/span>podlediad<\/span> hwn, mae\u2019n amlwg bod <\/span>Gamble<\/span> yn gweithredu fel y dyn syth ar gyfer r\u00f4l fwy ecsentrig <\/span>Acaster<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Mae\u2019n ymddangos bod y rhan fwyaf o gynulleidfa <\/span>Acaster<\/span>, fel fi, yn gwybod bod ei <\/span><\/span>stand-<\/span>up<\/span><\/span> ar ei fwyaf doniol pan mae\u2019n bodoli yn yr ardal lwyd rhwng golau a thywyllwch. Fodd bynnag, mae rhai sydd angen du neu wyn. Mae\u2019n debyg mai\u2019r rhan fwyaf o\u2019r he<\/span>rian<\/span> a gafodd <\/span>Acaster<\/span> oedd y rhai oedd yn dyheu am <\/span>Acaster<\/span> ar ei fwyaf rhyfedd. Yn sgrechian j\u00f4cs tu fewn o\u2019i <\/span>bodlediad<\/span> fel, \u2018<\/span><\/span>POPPADOMS OR BREAD<\/span>\u2019 a \u2018<\/span>DO A RANT ABOUT CHEESEBOARDS<\/span>\u2019. Gwaeddodd i Gymdeithas y Tasgfeistri a waeddodd ar James eu bod wedi \u2018cael ei Arglwydd a\u2019i Waredwr Greg Davies\u2019, mae\u2019n drueni na allai <\/span>weld<\/span> y cardfwrdd maint llawn<\/span> sydd<\/span> wedi\u2019i dorri allan o\u2019r \u2018Arglwydd a Gwaredwr\u2019 hwn. <\/span>Yn f<\/span>uan iawn y daeth ei sioe dydd Gwener yn rhywbeth nad oedd neb yng Nghanolfan y Celfyddydau yn ei ddisgwyl, gan gynnwys <\/span>Acaster<\/span> a oedd wrth ei fodd \u00e2 newydd-deb y profiad. Chwarddodd <\/span>rhywun<\/span> a oedd yn ymddangos yn fwy ar ochr adlewyrchol graddfa <\/span>Acaster<\/span>. Ei henw oedd Chris ac roedd hi\u2019n anhygoel. Roedd yna gymeriad arall o\u2019r enw Steve a <\/span>gychwynnodd yn syth gan<\/span> hecl<\/span>o<\/span>, \u2018<\/span><\/span>Aber <\/span>loves<\/span> <\/span>twinks<\/span><\/span>\u2019. Parhaodd i heclo\u2019r ymadroddion crefftus hyn nes i Chris ymateb gyda, \u2018Maen nhw i gyd eisiau eu pum <\/span>munud<\/span> o enwogrwydd\u2019. Daeth yn wrthwynebydd y darn yn gyflym. Roedd pobl yn bwio a heclo hi. Roedd <\/span>Acaster<\/span> wrth ei bodd gyda hi, dwi’n dychmygu nad yw hi’n cwrdd \u00e2 llawer o bobl fel Chris ar y daith hon. Roedd y noson<\/span> yn<\/span> wych o beth <\/span>ac r<\/span>oedd yn teimlo fel <\/span>Jeremy<\/span> Kyle mwy doniol a mwy dryslyd.<\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n

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Roedd yr ail noson yn hollol wahanol. Yn gyfan gwbl, roedd tua phedwar<\/span> yn<\/span> he<\/span>rian<\/span>. Syndod o’i gyferbynnu \u00e2’r miliynau y noson gynt. <\/span>Dywedwn mai oherwydd yr amser oedd<\/span>: naw yn yr hwyr ar y Gwener a hanner awr wedi chwech ar y Sadwrn. Mae’n ddiogel dweud bod llawer o bobl wedi meddwi<\/span>\u2019n rhacs<\/span> ddydd Gwener, gan helpu eu hyder i <\/span>daflu\u2019r<\/span> sioe.<\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span>Tua phum munud i mewn i set dydd Sadwrn, roedd <\/span>Acaster<\/span> wedi gwneud yr holl ddeunydd a<\/span> aeth<\/span> trwy<\/span>ddo y<\/span> diwrnod cynt. Roeddwn yn falch fy mod wedi mynd i’r sioe ddydd Sadwrn, fel bob amser, roedd yn ddoniol, ond roedd yn teimlo bod y gynulleidfa yn gallu treulio mwy o amser gyda <\/span>Acaster<\/span> ei hun yn hytrach na Chris, Steve neu’r <\/span>Taskmaster<\/span> Society. Mae’n rhaid mai’r uchafbwyntiau yw<\/span> pan oedd yn<\/span> hel atgofion<\/span> <\/span>o\u2019i <\/span>flynyddoedd iau. Cyfunodd y rhain ei hiwmor anghonfensiynol, ysgafnach \u00e2 phynciau mwy difrifol. Soniodd am ei dro cyntaf ar y llwyfan: pan ddaeth ei Nain i mewn i’w ysgol i ddangos iddynt sut i ddefnyddio olwyn nyddu. Gwaeddodd oherwydd na chafodd ei ddewis i roi cynnig arni, felly yn y diwedd, a dweud y gwir, <\/span>daethant ag ef<\/span> ar y llwyfan ac eisteddodd ar lin ei Nain. Mae’r ddelwedd hon yn peri gofid, bachgen ifanc yn <\/span>ei ddagrau<\/span> ar lin ei Nain o flaen ei gyd-ddisgyblion. Roedd y ffordd y cafodd ei ddisgrifio wedi <\/span>gwneud i bawb ffrwydro chwerthin<\/span>. Mae\u2019r ddelwedd hurt o\u2019r troell droellog ynghyd \u00e2\u2019r ddelwedd unig <\/span>pan oedd yn iau mor<\/span> dda. Yna aeth <\/span>Acaster<\/span> ymlaen i siarad am sut y dywedodd ei therapydd wrtho ei fod yn cario’r bachgen hwnnw gydag ef pryd bynnag y mae ar y llwyfan, ac y dylai ei amddiffyn. Arweiniodd hyn at j\u00f4c a oedd yn crynhoi\u2019r sioe newydd hon yn berffaith. <\/span>Gan <\/span>un o’r <\/span>prin rhai wnaeth heclo<\/span> ddydd Sadwrn, <\/span>dyma<\/span> rhywun<\/span> yn bloeddio<\/span>, ‘<\/span><\/span>DO A POSE<\/span>‘ a<\/span>c aeth<\/span> <\/span>Acaster<\/span> ati<\/span> ar unwaith, gan gymryd arno ei fod yn adeiladwr corff i ddangos ei gyhyrau. Pwyntiodd wedyn at gefn y llwyfan a dychwelyd<\/span> i<\/span>, ‘mae’r bachgen yn ystumio hefyd<\/span>\u2019.<\/span> Roedd <\/span>Acaster<\/span> wedyn yn ymddangos fel seren f\u00f4r i adael i’r gynulleidfa wybod beth roedd yn ei weld. Roedd dod \u00e2\u2019r bachgen unig hwn at y bwrdd gyda j\u00f4c mor ysgafn rhywsut yn ei wneud yn fwy doniol.<\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Mae’n debyg ei bod hi’n glir fy mod i’n meddwl bod gan James <\/span>Acaster<\/span> <\/span>waith c<\/span>aled o’i flaen, yn gweithio i fyw yn llwyd ei gomedi. Mae’n dal i fireinio hyn, a chredaf na fydd y swydd honno byth yn gyflawn. Bydd rhai o’i gynulleidfa bob amser eisiau’r naill fersiwn neu’r llall o’r eithaf ganddo, nad yw ef. Os yw ei daith newydd yn rhywbeth i fynd heibio, mae’n fodlon mynd i’r afael \u00e2 hyn yn uniongyrchol. Mae hefyd yn dangos amlbwrpasedd trawiadol, gan allu mowldio’r sioe i awyrgylch y gynulleidfa y noson honno.<\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Es i i’r toiled ar \u00f4l y gig dydd Sadwrn. Rhedais i mewn i’r ddwy ddynes h<\/span>o<\/span>n yn siarad am ba mor ddoniol ydoedd. Torrodd un ohonynt ar draws a dweud, <\/span>‘<\/span>Dwi<\/span> am roi cwtsh mawr iddo ac atebodd y llall, ‘a chusan fawr hefyd’. <\/span>O ystyried<\/span> ymatebion i <\/span><\/span>stand-<\/span>ups<\/span><\/span>, nid yw hynny’n ddrwg yn fy marn i.<\/span>\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arts centre hosts big comedy personality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":631,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311\/revisions\/631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}