James Acaster

By Charlotte Dekle

Source: Netflix

Where do I even begin with this corduroy clad man? I guess I’ll begin with his bio. Hailing from Kettering, James Acaster is, according to his website, “one of the UK’s finest stand up comedians.” I would not disagree with that. He is on his way to becoming one of my favorite comedians of all time. He was called by the Guardian, the Leonardo DiCaprio of stand up comedy. This is an apt description because of his variety of comedy styles with a variety of tones. He has appeared on many panel shows in the UK, such as Mock The Week and Taskmaster, and you can watch some of those clips on YouTube to get a sense of his comedic style of hilarious one-liners along with his persona. He wrote two books, one called “Classic Scrapes” which chronicles the mishaps and farcical adventures Acaster has found himself in over the years, and “Perfect Sound Whatever” which is a book about obsession, mental health and reconnecting with modern day music again. Oh, and also about the greatest year for music of all time – 2016. He has a persona of a very chill person who just goes with the flow and doesn’t have a plan. But his entire set is finely calibrated. Every punchline, every sound cue, every moment is finely tuned. This persona adds to the appeal. Most comedians have the air of relatability. Acaster looks like he is playing a character, like Pat Springleaf, and catches you off guard in some of his jokes. According to the Guardian, “His leisurely, idiosyncratic delivery gives the impression that he is a comic in the funny bones tradition; in fact, James Acaster: standup comedian was a persona arrived at with almost scientific experimentation.” If you haven’t seen any James Acaster clips, go watch them here. It’s a wonderfully weird mix of personal truths and observations that makes him one of the best comedians that the world has to offer and definitely one of my favorites.

His Netflix Special: Repertoire {Recognize, Represent, Reset, Recap}