Jim Jefferies To Bring Son of a Carpenter Show to the State Theatre

Jim Jefferies. Credit: Courtesy of Ailie Birchfield

Aussie comedian Jim Jefferies studied musical theater in college before taking his talents to the UK and becoming a standup sensation. In the past decade, he’s had hit comedy specials, successful podcasts and sold-out tours. Inspired by the anecdotal approaches of guys like the late George Carlin and Sir William Connolly, he tells stories about everything from his sex life with his wife to his disdain for climate activist Great Thunberg

In this recent phone interview from his Los Angeles home, Jim Jefferies talks about his career and his latest show, Son of a Carpenter, that he brings to the State Theatre on Friday, Jan. 10.

You’ll be touring right after the inauguration of a new U.S. President. What do you anticipate that will be like?
It won’t be any different. He’s the same president we had four years ago, so I’m pretty trained up on how the world is going to be. I don’t talk too much politics in the show, and I don’t think it will change things that much. We think things will change, but they really won’t.

You often reference climate change and other hot topics. How do you keep up with current events?
I do what everyone else does. I watch the news. If there are presidential debates, I watch the debates. I try to follow what’s going on with policy and stuff like that. I don’t do anything special. If I’m on an airplane, you might walk by me, and I might be watching CNN. You might walk past me five minutes later, and I might be watching Fox. I turn to one channel, and it says the world is ending, and one channel says the world has never been better.

You started your comedy career by delivering one-liners. Talk about that approach and what your early days as a standup were like.
I didn’t really do one-liners. I did small bits and observational humor. It took until I was a few years into it to start telling stories about me life or about things that happened to me. The Edinburgh festival changed that. In America, people were trying to get their four minutes together for Letterman or Leno or something like that. They wanted to have a short set ready. I had to perform for an hour. I was trying to make my jokes longer and longer. That was a big shift for me.

You have great timing. To what do you attribute that quality?
Uh, I attribute that to my father. I think it’s inherited. My timing is just unique. I haven’t had to work on that. That was one of the few things gifted to me through genetics, which I do appreciate. I can’t catch a ball and am terrible at reading. I can hardly do math, but my parents gave me timing.

Is your father funny?
He’s a funny man. He’s 83 now. He’s a carpenter, and I think I learned jokes you’d say on a worksite from him. When I was young, I worked at a butcher shop. I was sitting a fridge all day packing sausages and watching butchers cut meat and tell dirty jokes. I think I have a trade sense of humor.

Do you have any key influences?
Yeah. The ones I cite you may not know. When I was growing up, there was a guy named Anthony Morgan in Australia. I thought he was like Lenny Bruce but Australian. George Carlin was a big thing. I had to stop watching George Carlin because he was influencing my comedy too much. I used to appreciate Billy Connolly’s way of just telling stories. Not many people have that way of telling stories. The big thing for me was Eddie Murphy’s [1973 comedy film] Delirious. It was the first time I had seen someone do comedy for more than five to ten minutes. The movie was a cinematic release and was available at the video store. He talked about his childhood and his mom smashing him over the top of his head. That was right up my alley.

You toured South Africa earlier this year. What was that like?
I’ve toured it a few times. I like it down there. The food is really good, the people are really nice, and the gigs always go well. It’s a little bit dangerous to walk the streets. There are pluses and minuses, and it’s got to be the warmest spot on earth. Once I’m down there, I have a great time. I’ll play anywhere in the world if people will come and see me. That’s always been my policy. If I can sell tickets, I will come to your country. But not Russia at the moment.

What was what it like to do all those Canadian shows with Jimmy Carr?
We have known each other for 20 years. We didn’t start out doing comedy together but we became friends on the comedy circuit. I just saw that Chris Rock was performing with Dave Chappelle and Jerry with Jim Gaffigan. I thought, “It looks like a lot of fun.” We do these shows in the round. It’s kind of fantastic. The whole show does not weigh on you, but you lift your game because you don’t want to be outdone by the other bloke. Whether we admit it or not, both of us try to outdo the other one. It only made it sense to do it in Canada because we are at the same level of popularity there. I would do 80 percent of my gigs with Jimmy if it were feasible. When you are a theater act, you don’t really hang out with other comedians. Just going to the dinner before the gig gives you a right laugh.

Some people find your material offensive. What is your take on that? Do you care what people think?
Not particularly. There are plenty of people that I find offensive, but I don’t let it ruin my day. There are plenty of people who say stupid things, and you just roll your eyes and move on. There are people who find you offensive and then decide that they need to write it on the internet and make a big review of your show about how you are the most terrible person on the world because you mentioned some political candidate that you don’t agree with. Or it could be that you did something that they think is sexist. It’s just comedy. I want to do the jokes that I would enjoy watching. That’s the show I’m trying to put on. It’s not meant to be taken seriously.

I think you like to say things people think but don’t say, but I don’t get the sense that you’re encouraging someone to be sexist or racist.
Nor do I believe those things at all. I’m mostly talking about those common sense things that may apply to my life. If I have a fight with my wife and then talk about it on stage and get worked up about it, that doesn’t mean I walk around all day thinking about it. Mind you that while I’m doing this interview right now, my wife is sitting right next to me so I have to watch what I say.

It looks like you have a busy 2025 in the works. Talk about some of the things you’re looking forward to.
I got a film movie coming out and a tour of the UK. I will do some more of the game show [The 1% Club] in Australia. I’m booked up. I ‘m happy with that. I try to take as much time off as possible when my kids are still little. At the moment, I’m looking for times not to do work.

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