Sanderson Jones: "We will celebrate the hell out of life"
One of the most innovative comedians in the world right now, Sanderson Jones wants to sell you a ticket to his show. Yes, you personally
Some comedians write a new show every year. Sanderson Jones invents a new genre with roughly the same frequency. Having recently gained worldwide press attention for founding the first comedy-driven atheist church, he’s taking a break by reviving comedysale.com for the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.
The show works like this: you can only buy a ticket directly from Jones. He gets to know every audience member personally, researches a bit about their lives and incorporates them into each performance, usually by mining their social media profiles for LOLs.
“There have been some good ones,” says Jones, reflecting on the 50 performances to date. “There was the naked gimp I made sit on the critic’s lap at the Sydney Opera House, or the girl in Melbourne who had a video online where she said she didn't know the alphabet. Or filming myself in someone’s house. She’d said: ‘I see you around town so much I wouldn't be surprised if I saw you in my house.’ She was surprised.”
It sounds a bit scary until you see the show, which is magnificent. “I think I’m celebrating our idiosyncracies,” Jones says. “Let's face it, we’ve all got funny stuff about us online. For instance, I found a tweet from an audience member saying, ‘at least you don't look as punchable as this guy.’ It happened to be linked to a picture of me.”