Like Father, Like Son? Sorry: nothing to apologize for

Chris Gibbs and Gibbs Junior

Borrowing a scene from Superman, Chris Gibbs in Like Father, Like Son? Sorry (on now in Victoria as part of the Uno Fest) sweeps onstage with the plastic baby that would grow up to be Christopher Reeve. From here, he slides out of his robe and into a long reflection on his own fitness as a father. He then quickly adjusts the baby’s head so that it’s flat, unblinking, empty, lifeless, soullessly accusing blue eyes bore through the being of some unfortunate man in the front row. Gibbs is not one to let sincerity smother comedy for long.


From here, Gibbs flits from moment to moment in his adventures in parenthood with a sort of anxious charisma. “Shyness is like being a confident psychopath,” he explains. It’s a tone that makes a tough subject matter work. Wives and children have been done to death in stand-up, but Gibbs avoids the usual clichés partially through his talent for sarcasm and the rest through how bizarre his parenting life seems to have been. Gibbs doesn’t kid when he says “confident psychopath”: he jokes about electrocuting himself at Home Depot and engineering funny accents for his offspring while his son cavorts about with a chef’s knife in his monkey-like grip. Factor in a near-death experience involving a foul-tempered mime and you’ve got yourself a solid comedy show, simple as that.

You probably don’t need a reviewer to tell you to get an annual dose of Chris Gibbs, so just remember that your only other chance to get it in Like Father, Like Son? Sorry. is on Saturday the 29th at 7pm. Between this and The Power of Ignorance, Gibbs’ other Uno show, this one comes out on top – and it’s newer, too! Not seeing it would be like skipping Chris Gibbs’ baby shower. What kind of fan are you to do that?

For more information get childish here.
 

By Chris Felling