★★★★
Adelaide Fringe Festival. The Lark @ Gluttony. 23 Feb 2025
James Barr is a genuine storyteller, and his show Sorry I Hurt Your Son (Said My Ex To My Mum) is an autobiographical journey through and safely out the other side of an abusive relationship (sort of!). It hurts to say it, but it is oh so funny! The one liners flow thick and fast, and if you don’t know much about the ins and outs of gay relationships, your education is fast and furious, whether you like it or not!
It’s almost shameful that Barr should mercilessly and incessantly joke about domestic violence for almost fifty minutes, and even worse that we the audience should laugh at it. But that’s exactly what happens: Barr does it so well and we laugh and laugh, and squirm.
Barr is clever, witty, calculating, risky, and he slaughters all manner of sacred cows in his wake. He seduces his audience and makes us feel safe, then shatters it all with an ugly reminiscence that stuns us into a silence for what feels like an eternity, before following it up with a funny quip that comes as a release. He’s clever.
Barr’s show is disarming. He subliminally challenges us to consider our own relationships with persons known and unknown. And we do. We each fight briefly with our own demons but then give in to his superbly timed gags and laugh. Above all, Barr is a stand-up comic, but this show is more than that.
The title of the show derives from a Christmas card his ex sent to Barr’s mother of whom he was fond. “Sorry I hurt your son.” Why didn’t he say it to James? A further extension of the abuse.
Kym Clayton
When: 23 Feb to 2 Mar
Where: The Lark @ Gluttony
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
