★★★
Partially sighted (‘or partially blind depending on how you look at it’) stand-up Jake Donaldson reclaims his disability in the opening moments of his show. It can often be tense for a majority non-disabled audience to witness a performer take agency and represent themselves unapologetically. But this is Jake’s show in a nut-shell. He is allowing himself to build his confidence in the face of his anxiety, being an outsider and being a gentle soul in the world of toxic masculinity.
Jake’s material is long-form, it isn’t a barrage of one-liners or joke after joke, it’s storytelling; whether about being northern, his father’s brain injury or David Seaman’s e-mail address, there is always lengthy detail to follow. Donaldson does get bogged down in some of his stories, and it can become meandering, but he is aware of his audience and how to keep them entertained. His magic trick wrapped in a tale of woeful adolescence longing has an inspired pay-off.
Jake isn’t showy, or a try hard, he just gets on with his material and says what he wants to say. The fact that he is free to express himself, thankful that he can be creative and open, is something to be celebrated. He could all too easily be ignored, appearing on the surface as the much maligned ‘bloke in a t-shirt stand-up’. But Jake’s heart really shows and we feel lifted up by his authenticity. Jake’s a sweet and funny guy quietly rejecting the traps of contemporary male stand-up.
