EDINBURGH 2023: Review: ZACH ZUCKER: SPECTACULAR INDUSTRY SHOWCASE, Pleasance Courtyard, Upstairs

The second that Zach Zucker steps on stage for his show, Zach Zucker: Spectacular Industry Showcase, he commands the room. He emerges wearing a sparkly and very unbuttoned shirt and you cannot help but fall a little bit in love with his confidence and talent within minutes.

For those unfamiliar with Zucker, he is the creator of Stamptown, a comedy group that brought an impressive 17 shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year including the iconic Stamptown Comedy Night. Zucker also starred as his alter ego, Jack Tucker, in Jack Tucker: Comedy Standup Hour. He is joined by Lucas Tamaren of Thumpasaurus on keyboard, accompanying Zucker’s joke with perfectly timed music and sound effects throughout the show. To give you a taste of his humour, in his introduction, Zucker states that he’s “6’, 6’4” in heels, 8’5” in stilts, 12’ on a ladder, 12’4” on a ladder in heels, 3’ in a swamp, 2’ in a marsh, and 55 inches in quicksand.”

You can see that Zucker is truly a professional clown; he actually graduated from École Philippe Gaulier in France, a highly reputable clown school created in the 1980s. Throughout the show, he becomes several different characters including a man named Antonio Bologna, fully dedicating himself to each character to the point in which the line between reality and show began to blur for the audience. He also has a hilarious bit about British accents that I heavily relate to as an American living in the UK. Sometimes, the character of Jack Tucker emerges as well, which is welcome for those of us who love Stamptown and the terrible human being Tucker is. Along with characters, Zucker also sings, dances, and even does some poetry in order to show Hollywood just how talented he is. 

There is some fun audience interaction throughout the show, including when, as a Spaniard, Zucker attempts to flirt with an audience member, but the show is mostly focused on Zucker and his dreams of Hollywood. I also particularly enjoyed his microphone work which came back as a running gag throughout the show but never overstayed its welcome.  There were a few times in which jokes went on for a bit too long, but they were few and far between as Zucker jumped between jokes. Some of the best moments were those that only lasted for a few seconds, seemingly improvised, over bits that would last for several minutes and tended to repeat themselves. 

Ultimately, Zach Zucker: Spectacular Industry Showcase is a hilarious hour of standup, proving that Zucker belongs on the stage. He’s a master of his craft and does a brilliant job of blurring the lines between his real life and the characters on stage, making you question whether Zach Zucker is truly his name.

It’s absurdist clown humour (a challenge to review!) that allows Zucker to shine, truly giving a showcase of his talents to the audience. I cannot wait to see what Zucker does next!

Zach Zucker: Spectacular Industry Showcase ran at Pleasance Courtyard, Upstairs.

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