Jacqueline Novak: Get on Your Knees

Its true this may be closer to a one man show than a comedy performance, but this touch of theatre over a comedic styled narration demonstrated a refreshing take on what it means to give a solo performance in the age of streaming. The onslaught of words left no time for appreciating each joke, but it also left no time to feel off-put as she navigates socially awkward topics.

It feels like a natural progression in the feminist narrative of taking control of ones life story and casting oneself as the hero even in the face of failures. As other comedians simply look for us to laugh off our failures we can appreciate that looking for poetic dignity through failure is a useful coping skill that we aren't often presented with in this genre.

I felt like it could have almost fallen apart and felt too desperate in what it was reaching for, but the closing of the show was the cherry on top and solidifies her as a great show writer and an authentic performer.

This style may feel off putting from what we are used to in the comedian genre, but I think Novak's critics will look back and realize they were asking Mozart to play less notes - Bravo!

I was told this was hilarious and I needed to see it so I had a watch. There were a few moments that I thought were pretty funny, but then it went on, and on (and on and on and on) delivered at a manic pace that reminded me of a person that is high on speed blasting me in the face with a fire hose of words. She talked so fast and so continuously that I found it exhausting to listen to and it seemed like parts were repeated over and over. Yeah, ok, penis jokes and sex jokes are funny but they're also as old as time so not much new here and this was at least 45 minutes longer than it needed to be. It's not the worst standup I've seen but it's not great either.

Jacqueline Novak is wildly clever-there's no doubt about that. But in Get On Your Knees, her jokes come at you so fast it feels less like a stand-up special and more like speed dating with comedy. She's gasping for air, we're gasping to keep up, and nobody's getting a moment to laugh.

There's fantastic material buried under all that velocity, but it never gets the chance to land. Comedy needs a beat, a breath-something other than a verbal sprint to the finish line. If the goal was to fit it all into one hour, maybe split it into two? Or, radical idea: slow down and let the jokes shine.

It's a missed opportunity by the director, too-someone should've said, "Let's give the brilliance a minute to breathe." Because it's there. You just need superhuman focus (and maybe subtitles) to catch.

I don't think I have heard such direct sexual in your face comedy from anyone like this. I defy anyone to actually count the times she says ****, ****, *******, ******. Surprisingly it is not done in a crass way. If the idea of full hour of sexual discussion is not uncomfortable for you. Give this a try. It certainly was different.

I would agree, with others, that it was fast paced and densely packed! So it seems longer than it was, and you may feel exhausted at the end.

Was it funny? Yes and no. At no time did I laugh out loud, but I smiled a lot. It is more of a performance. A highly energetic performance.

Bravo, well done Jacqueline.

Brilliant and unique. Worth a watch. Definitely didn't laugh out loud but a new twist on stand up. The entire skit is about one topic that you can guess based on the title.

She'll keep you on the edge of your seat in ways that you honestly have no idea what she'll say next.

I've never seen stand up spoken so fast and poetic.

She's a very fast spoken individual but very poetic in her way to weave in and out of storylines for 1.5 hours. It will be interesting to see what she comes out with next.

You can tell she's got much more to share as she's got one of racing minds but she's well thought out.