Jenny Tian talks a good game. She has the presence and, more importantly, delivery of a first-rate comedian. Her easy, slightly nasal drawl is made to sell punchlines and absurd anecdotes.
However, with Jenny’s Travels, whilst she makes excellent company, the material is light on belly laughs. It’s not for a lack of structure or sophistication, just a lack of truly deadly pay-offs. The idea of writing it to parallel Home Alone 2 – you know, the one with a cameo from the Donald? – is strong, just under-realised.
Just like Kevin, she wandered far from her Australian home, and her authoritarian-leaning mother. Unlike Kevin, her destination was London, not New York…oh, and before setting off she had her eggs frozen.
It was time to discover herself, make it big in Europe, and get laid. That’s pretty much the basis of Jenny’s Travels, which rests heavily on her Chinese matriarch’s idiosyncrasies, which she teases heavily through her introduction.
However ‘Before she talks to us about her mum’ she does a little crowdwork, hoping to find other globe trotting youths to compare notes with, discusses a unique approach to DuoLingo, and the parallels between Autism, and simply being Chinese.
“Jenny Tian talks a good game. She has the presence and, more importantly, delivery of a first-rate comedian. Her easy, slightly nasal drawl is made to sell punchlines and absurd anecdotes.”
The last section, more provocative than the rest is the most effective, and deserved the smattering of applause given when I stopped by.
Then it’s time for mother to enter the set, complete with adventures in WhatsApp, and memories of lockdown at home. It’s not quite as hilarious as the intro trailers promise, but it sets the show up well enough.
Once her story arrives in London, the set carries on being a bit of a mixed bag. Her ‘types of English’ bit is fairly familiar, whilst the bit on ‘dangerous’ London offers an anecdote with a payoff you’ll probably see coming from a ways off. Conversely, Jenny’s shtick on the negative fields of UK Charity workers is sensational, as is her bizarre stories from the rented housing frontier.
I’m not terribly fond of her bit on micro-penises, however, which is a little insensitive, if not offensive. That said, this bit is well written, and well delivered. The signs of greatness are definitely there.
All in all, at least on the evidence of Jenny’s Travels, I’d say Jenny Tian has mastered the killer delivery, but has yet to develop the killing instinct when it comes to her writing. It’s impressive to watch her perform, even so, and you can see why comedy producers would see big things in her future.
Maybe her upcoming adventure in the USA will be the proving ground where she can achieve her final, killer form.
Show details
Venue: Venue 17: Assembly George Square Studios, George Square, EH8 9LH (Google Maps)
Date(s): Mon 11 Aug to Sun 24 Aug (14 shows)
Time(s): 6:40pm (60 mins)
Age recommendation: 16+
Price: From £12 (concessions available)
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