Jason Cook: The End (Part 1)

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On 20 December 2009 Jason Cook had a severe anxiety attack as a result of overwork and exhaustion. Although this could be considered a frightening occupational hazard for the hardest-working comics, it certainly proved beneficial for Cook, who claims the experience has revealed to him the true meaning of his life and provided the inspiration for his show.

Cook is more of a sitdown than a standup. The couch on the stage and his energetic yet receptive manner mean that the venue feels more like a living room than a club as he holds court, recounting his experiences as a comedian and as a sailor in the Merchant Navy. In both of these lives, he has seen some things and picked up numerous, dubious, but undoubtedly entertaining honours.

This is necessarily very personal material and at times verges on self-absorbed navel-gazing, but the Geordie comic is witty and personable enough to pull it off. There is something of the excitable, ingenuous child about Cook – he isn’t afraid to be honest about his shortcomings and as such his show remarkable for its candour. Though accomplished, it never feels over-rehearsed and Cook’s interaction with the audience is easy and spontaneous. But then you come to expect that from a comic who has been attacked by a heckler with a Chicken Kiev and lived to tell the tale. As for the meaning of Cook’s life? That would be telling.