Jamie enters with an unexpected tangled mess of mic lead. He wonders if the tech team did it on purpose, but it provides comic material for at least the first few minutes of the show. He goes on to explain his clothing choices for tonight, excusing his incredibly white shoes, and making light of the judgments we may or may not have already made about him, and his award-winning beard. The comedy flows well. It is natural and engaging.

The Festival Guide said we would be taken on a journey. We certainly are: a journey through the London underground, dodgy Spaniards, Tinder dates and beach proposals. But Jamie’s real skill comes out in is his ability to take us with him on the worst journey of his life, the death of his father, whilst making it all really rather hilarious. It’s touching, but funny. Heartfelt but comical. 

This life-changing event and its role in Jamie’s questioning of the universe, runs as a theme through the show. His observation of the normal through grief-tinted glasses is quite brilliant. Everything he says is relatable and real. Our ninety minutes of comedy is apparently Jamie’s longest show, but is truly entertaining from start to finish. He gives us permission to laugh out loud, and that we do. I find Jamie a true master of his art and I will be following his work and recommending his next show to friends.

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This is the first stand-up show I’ve been too in a long time that actually made me think about stuff in my own life. 

Bowen’s show is based on his experiences having his life fall apart: going from opening to Rhys Darby on the comedy circuit to flying back to NZ for his father’s death, a subsequent breakup and then a breakdown.  It sounds horrible and awful, and it was at the time, but in Bowen’s skilled hands, the experiences are touching and wonderfully funny.  

Bowen brings a startling intensity to his show. At first glance, he slots pretty neatly into that Wellington hipster / could-be-a-lumberjack category of guy on the street.  But his physicality changes constantly through the night, first as his hilarious alter-ego of a really camp Spanish man, his father, and a truly terrible maths / life-lesson teacher. 

I’ve seen Bowen’s energy described as manic, but it is too disciplined for that.  What he does so well is demand that his audience keep pace, like in his bit about life being a series of different sized boxes.  We want to laugh early, but the impact is so much greater when we have to hold on for the whole thing.  It’s a virtuoso bit of comedy, and I love it. 

Heart Goes Boom is constantly skimming some heavy and deeply personal stuff.  Bowen keeps dipping into the serious just long enough to land before exploding back into funny – that ‘manic’ energy again.  It’s a tough job done well; the crowd tonight doesn’t always want to go there, but we do.  And the reward is always worth it, such as when Bowen describes his dad’s last words. 

The one quibble I have is with the venue.  There is so much ‘great moment’ comedy in this show.  And Cavern Club’s bathroom is just off the stage, so anytime someone has to use the toilet, it breaks the rhythm of those moments.  I can’t help but feel that a venue that allowed for a little more status for the comedian would help Bowen immensely. 

There’s also a throwaway bit about selfies that makes me cringe a bit – really?  Girls who take duck-lipped selfies are sluts?  Come on, man, you’re smarter than that. But given the potential for so much to go OTT in this show – from being a jerk on planes to what life in London is like – it’s amazing that this is the only point that grinds.

Still, these are quibbles, and I strongly recommend you check out Jamie Bowen while he’s around.  If he can take tragedy and turn it into such engaging stuff, I can’t wait to see what happens now his life is looking up. 

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