Zach Zucker talks about Jack Tucker interview

Written by: Mark Muldoon
Published: Monday 23rd September 2019

Jack Tucker is a wrecked, egomaniac stand-up comedian. Thankfully - for those that request to meet him - we're firmly in character comedy territory here: Tucker is the alter-ego of performer Zach Zucker, who we chatted to ahead of the character's first Soho Theatre run.

Your show was a talked-about hit in Edinburgh. How was the Fringe for you?

It really couldn't have gone any better, man. I remember when we first started developing Tucker in Paris last summer, we did these horrible English-speaking comedy nights that are absolute hell on Earth. I was performing to a room of 4-6 people and getting no laughs. To then tour that same character across the US, Australia, and the UK, perform at places like Glastonbury, Soho Theatre, and Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and have people actually like it - we couldn't have asked for anything more.

How would you describe the show? Is it one to bring the whole family along to?

I'm not sure I would bring the whole family to this show, but there's certainly something here for everyone. People have really strong reactions to it - they either really love it or absolutely hate it.

I'm obviously desensitised to it because we've been touring for over a year now, but the craziest part to me is the pace rather than the material itself.

The concept is pretty universal, it's a bad stand-up comedian, and there's not really any subject matter that's actually offensive. One of my favourite pull quotes we've received was 'an assault on the senses' which I didn't understand until we took a break from Edinburgh and did the set again. About 15 minutes in I remember thinking to myself, "damn this is super tiring and very intense." I get why some people might not like it.

The overwhelming majority of people loved the show - it got a standing ovation the night British Comedy Guide saw it - but a few people hated it. How does that feel?

I go back and forth on this one. I'd obviously prefer people enjoy it; we go into every project and every show with the intention of entertaining everyone, but we're also fully aware that this show isn't for everybody and completely understand when people don't like it.

I personally don't see how anybody would dislike Jack - he's a really sensitive and misunderstood guy. I think if there were 100 walkouts and only 5-10 people stayed, I'd feel a lot worse. But at the same time, I would love to see the show that made 100 people walk out.

It certainly feels your director plays a crucial role. How much skill is there in getting that right? What's the trick to how well you work together? Practice? Telepathic connection?

Jonny Woolley and I have been working together for over 5 years now and he's directed every project I've made, so 'telepathic connection' is pretty accurate.

We think of it like jazz, in that we have the same set every show but there's a major emphasis on maintaining a sense of play between us at all times. We don't always know when the moments of play will come, but when they do, we both recognise them.

Not only that, but we've spent almost every minute together since we started touring. He and I have shared a bed more than either of us have shared one with our partners - and he hasn't even tried to fuck me once. I guess my telepathic connection isn't as strong as you'd think.

The trailer you've put together for the Soho run is pretty intense. What's the thinking behind it? Give people an idea of how frantic the live show is?

See X post

That was put together by Dylan Woodley and Jonny. Dylan is another one of the co-creators of Tucker and CEO of DylanBrand® which is a Premium Lifestyle Experience Solutions Company®. Whenever we make promo content for Tucker we really like to dig into the raw spirit of the show and make ourselves laugh. Not that this is the video Jack would ever make - he doesn't own a smartphone and has limited access to computers - so there's a good chance he'd never see this.