Who is Jimmy Whobblers?
Jimmy Whobblers was a beloved television and stage comedian who conquered the light entertainment scene of the mid to late 80s. Despite never garnering celebrity, he was known best as the host of Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy a Man After Midnight, a mid morning quiz/gregorian role play/quiz trivia show), Jimmy’s big break came in the form of Can’t Wink, Won’t Wink, a Thursday late night Tiddlywinks sports gossip and game show, where members of the public and professional winkers would answer questions and discuss the modern game that aired on the radio. Whobblers intrigued as much as he entertained the nation - though never more than a few dozen at a time (if that). Unfortunately, he died in 2008 or 2009, during the filming of his ill fated “An Audience With…” pilot that was never picked up. Thankfully, a holographic record of his persona and performance is occasionally presented through his son in law Marty Bright, inlcuding a run at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival.
Show Description
Showbiz stalwart and ”Wheezing Dragon Best Newcomer” (1980, 1982), Whobblers returns for one last debut show. Using “Staggeringly Unrealistic” 3D-Holographic technology, this macabre cash-grab features stories about childhood, rubbing shoulders with the greats and his notorious death in 2008.
The Skinny’s Best Shows of Edinburgh Fringe 2018. ‘First-rate character comedy’ | ‘Nuggets of comedy gold’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Skinny
‘Made me cry with laughter… my favourite comedy show in the fringe this year’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Fountain
‘Slick… Original, Intelligent Humour’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ThreeWeeks
Reviews
“The working man’s club superstar we’ve been waiting for… Pants-wettingly, chair-fallingly funny… Large parts of the show are a blur because you’re being hit with so much material, all of it hilarious… a character so incredibly silly, funny and loose that it comes close to Partridge levels of comedic genius”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Wee Review link
Audience Reviews
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Lou Sanders: “Go see this show… it’s SO BLOODY GOOD” (Tweet)
From EdFringe.com
- Jane Jackson: “Loved it! Especially the bit where Jimmy reads out a section from his memoirs. Very funny.”
- Andrew Bailey: “Laughed hardest at this than anything else all week! Amazing show with a brilliant character. Thanks!
- Mike Armstrong: “Deviated wildly of piste and script due to an ADHD (Attention Deficit Humour Disorder) family on the front row… [Jimmy] earned a 5 star revue by trying very hard to engage them but eventually having the cajones to throw them out of the venue! Best bit of standup I’ve seen for ages. The atmosphere improved immediately. I could hear Bernard Manning cheering from above. Shame we haven’t time to go back and see the full act.”
Twitter Reviews
Reviews from Twitter
- @danaksegal: “so funny sometimes its hard to keep up… an ode to the art form itself” (link)
- @CmonHarris: “It’s great, I laughed a lot” (link)
- @Peaky76: “Quality retro comedy thrills” (link)
- @ProbablyLucy: “a great hour of laughs” (link)
- @jameswalkerguy: “a truly enjoyable hour. So silly” (link)
- David Bard: “Best #Edfringe2019 things so far. JIMMY WHOBBLERS” (link)
- @justthemedicine: “don’t miss the legendary Jimmy Whobblers” (link)
- Bobby Carroll: “crammed full of silly… he will be my first [recommendation] come 2020” (link)
- Stuart McPherson: “so funny… deserves to play to full rooms in Edinburgh forever” (link)
- Tommy Mackay: “Pure comedy gold… brilliant” (link)
- Hari Kanth: “Definitely worth the trip” (link)
- Ross McCleary: “I’d thoroughly recommend that any comedy fans see [Jimmy]… bursting with jokes, call backs and hilarious yet touching moments” (link)
- Pearse O’Halloran: “Brilliantly drawn out character comedy loaded with subverted cheesy gags” (link)
- @DavidCallaghan: “I don’t think you could get a more Chunksian idea” (link)
Coverage
REVIEW: The Wee Review
Review, The Wee Review, Aug 2019 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - “Richard Hanrahan gives us the working man’s club superstar we’ve been waiting for… a character so incredibly silly, funny and loose that it comes close to Partridge levels of comedic genius”. Lovely and first review for the show from the institution formerly known as TV Bomb. Take a look at the full review here.
ICYMI: Hi-De-HI
Feature, The Skinny, March 2019 The “In Case You Missed It” series asks comedians to watch and report back on a series, show or special that they’ve not seen before. I decided to write about Hi-De-Hi as it sort of fit into research about the character I was working on at the time, Jimmy Whobbers. You can also read the version I didn’t publish…
Gallery
Hi-res images available here