Comedian Ricky Gervais
has launched a new UK tour, but it’s not going down very well. Reviewers have called Ricky Gervais: Mortality “tepid”, “not funny” and even accused the star of spending “too much time online.”
Announcing the tour in June, Gervais said: “We’re all gonna die. May as well have a laugh about it. Mortality looks at the absurdities of life – and death. Bring it on.”
But the reviews have focused more on Gervais channelling his inner “woke-baiting truth-teller” stance rather than jokes about death and ageing, which are “lightly prosecuted at best”, according to The Times, who also called the show “a bit scattershot.”
A review in The Independent accused the funny man of being “utterly immersed in the discourse churn of the Twittersphere” and devoting “considerable energy towards ridiculing those (online) dissenters who have called him out for ableism, or transphobic comedy, goading them with more of the same”.
It goes on to say: “The idea of Gervais as a kind of obstinate sceptic-provocateur is now the heart of his own branding. But he’s in no way any funnier because of this.”
The Telegraph said Gervais was “a man who used to be the funniest bloke in the pub, delivering material written after spending too much time online
The reviews point to Gervais’ previous successes such as The Office, Extras, Derek, Life’s Too Short, and After Life, as well as his early comedy specials Animals and Politics, and how they differ markedly from Mortality‘s “ridiculing” of critics who disagree with his anti-wokeness.
Despite the lukewarm reviews, Mortality is expected to run until the end of 2025 and culminate in a new special for Netflix, which will Gervais’ fourth for the streaming service
.
