Scaramouche Jones - Delicatessen Theatre

Enclosed in the intimate confines of the Delicatessen Theatre, Scaramouche Jones (Tom Daplyn), a 99-year-old clown pours out his heart and regales us with his fascinating life story and his ‘strange destiny.’

It’s the eve of the Millennium and subsequently the hapless clown’s 100^th birthday – and he believes he is about to die. Having had his umbilical chord cut with a fishmonger’s knife exactly a century ago, we hear the tragic tale of how the death of his prostitute mother, the ‘chief attraction’ of the knocking shop, was killed by a client, leaving him an orphan at the age of six. From there he is sold into slavery and taken to Africa before being thrown in Prison in Italy. Having being made to dig mass graves during the holocaust, he finds himself on the shores of Wales, where he adopts his surname, Jones.

Justin Boucher’s masterful script is expertly portrayed by Daplyn, with undying energy, comic timing and gripping pauses, superbly blending humour with sorrow. Expertly painting the picture of neglect and the fight for survival, the actor makes the most of the limited space to vividly explain the colourful life of Scaramouche, an orphan boy born that lives through a torrid century fraught with two world wars, political atrocities and countless inventions, including the controversial introduction of the lbw rule in cricket and the introduction of locum jobs for doctors in psychology wards.

Director, Jonathan Constant should also be credited for a wonderful performance and the invention of such profound imagery, intelligently using props, such as curtains, a silk veil and a hool-a-hoop to transform the stage from one setting to another.

Scaramouche Jones is a poignant look through history and with startling insight reflects how the weak are subjugating by those in power. World events share parallels with life of the unfortunate Jones, a lost soul who didn’t laugh until aged 51. The powerful message is not only apparent throughout history, but evident in our own times and, one would imagine, in the future, thus the tragic tale of Scaramouche Jones will remain forever timeless.

Ralphie May is very funny but also very vulgar

Ralphie May is a hilarious comedian. He will have you rolling in the isles as he does his stand up routine. When he first gets on stage he will act as though he is tired. He will probably be a little lackluster. But, once he gets into his routine, it is nonstop laughs.

Ralphie talks about things in day to day life that are funny but often not seen to be. He talks about us allowing ourselves to be ripped off and how he does it too. He makes you laugh at your self for the ridiculous things that we do on a daily basis and consider them to be normal. We run around and buy coffees that sometimes cost as much as a coffee pot. We know they are expensive yet we still get them.

He is very controversial. Nothing is off limits with Ralphie. He talks very detailed about sex, to the point of describing permanant laser hair removal (cringe). He does not hold back at all. Make sure that you are prepared for foul language and visual images that are burned into your brain. His work does borderline vulgarity. He tiptoes on the line of taking it too far. There are times when he may make you feel uncomfortable because his sexual topics are very thorough and may make you feel dirty. This is the point of his show. He wants to be unique and take his show to the extremes. He completely and totally succeeds in his goal. Taking your mother or mother in law to see Ralphie May is not suggested. You may feel very uncomfortable when you are sitting across from them and he begins talking about self gratification. All and all Ralphie May is a very funny comedian. You just have to get past his crudeness and you will be laughing your butt off.