I’m glad that Jav Jarquin didn’t take his show to Auckland because fuck those guys, they get Avenue Q. We deserve something cool too. It was cool, just so you know. Jarquin’s audience got to spend an hour cracking up at him doing ninja stuff with cards. They weren’t so much tricks as card feats—he impaled a pumpkin, hit flying cards with other cards and flicked stuff across the room. Hey, I don’t care what you say “person who didn’t attend the show”, Jarquin was freaking sweet.
The show was a weird balance of gimmickry, personal biography and laugh lines, which meant that there were fewer laughs per minute than you’d usually expect at a comedy show. This mix of energies worked towards the show’s favour, as it was easily the most unique hour of this edition of the Comedy Festival. I think that Jarquin chose wisely to stage Card Ninja now instead of the NZ Fringe Festival, as his slick show might have been lost among the weird shenanigans that constitute Fringe.
Jav Jarquin—The Legend Of The Card Ninja
Fringe Bar
28 April – 1 May 2010