Zerdin’s Stand up for Dummies is a masterclass

Posted on 14th October 2023

Is Paul Zerdin Britain’s finest ventriloquist? Fans of Nina Conti might have something to say about that, but it’s fair to say they are the only two masters of the art that could sensibly lay claim to the title. So it was quite something to see Zerdin performing at the Corn Hall. While Conti has made improvised deconstruction of the form her own, Zerdin’s mix of voice throwing, dummy and prop work leans closer to straight forward magic. His technical skills are unimpeachable, notwithstanding a self-depreciation that belies his success on America’s Got Talent.

The show kicked off with a recap of his million dollar triumph in the US, before he cheerfully acknowledged the preposterous journey from headlining in Las Vegas to Diss. Given the potty mouthed sauce of his hand operated pals on stage, he seemed to me to be much more at home in Blighty and the audience certainly responded in kind, lapping up his innuendo stuffed routine. Interspersed with some very funny filmed inserts of Zerdin at large, this was a show that he inhabited with ease and authority, commanding a crowd delighted to suspend disbelieve as a host of characters gleefully insulted members of the audience in a way only a make belief puppet can.

In the second half of the show ventriloquism and magic collided as one of Zerdin’s puppets was unceremoniously sliced into three, before miraculously turning into a chicken. As a show stopper, it left the audience wondering how he would top that, something he pulled off by dragging two puppets from out of the audience, after which Clive very nearly stole the show with his stunning dance moves. If you’re struggling to make sense of any of that, as you’d have probably gathered by now, you really needed to be there.