Two comedy kings go head-to-head this week, but they’ll be delivering jokes, not jabs

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This article was published 16/11/2015 (3597 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a standup showdown in Winnipeg this week and, as strange as it might sound, it’s the guy who stands five feet four inches tall and weighs 140 pounds who ranks as the undisputed comedy heavyweight in the matchup of mirth-making monologists.

Kevin Hart, arguably the hottest comedy act on the planet these days, brings his What Now? tour to the MTS Centre on Thursday night at 7 p.m. (tickets range from $49.50 to $125, with only a limited number of seats available); last spring, Billboard magazine predicted Hart’s current road odyssey would become the highest-grossing comedy tour in history.

Meanwhile, Australian-born performer Jim Jefferies is unleashing a one-two punch of his profane and politically incorrect brand of humour in a pair of shows at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre (Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m.; tickets are $47.50; Thursday’s show is sold out and a limited number of seats are available for Wednesday’s event).

Jefferies had the advantage of a significant head start in the lead-up to this week’s jocular jab-off — tickets for his show(s) went on sale last April, while Hart’s tour-stop announcement and on-sale date for tickets didn’t arrive until late September. Jefferies’ first (Thursday) show sold out quickly, and a second (Wednesday) show was added. Tickets for Hart’s event also sold briskly after going on sale on Sept. 25; a second (10 p.m.) performance was announced, but that show was subsequently cancelled.

So this is it: one city, two comics, three shows. Let’s call it a ’Peg City Punch(line)-Off, or a River City Rumble (of laughter), or, if you prefer, a Flatland Funny-Fellow Faceoff.

Whatever the case, here’s the Tale of the Rib-Tickling Tape:

Jim Jefferies

Born: Geoff James Nugent

Hometown: Perth, Australia

Current tour: Freedumb

In Winnipeg: Wednesday and Thursday (sold out) at Pantages Playhouse Theatre; tickets $47.50 at Ticketmaster

Age: 38

Height: 5-8

Tale of the tweets: 218,600 followers (@jimjefferies)

Social media slogan: “I think it’s funny. But it’s not for everyone.”

Technique/style: Irreverent, frequently profanity-laden, politically incorrect, inclined toward bluntly worded rants on such hot-button issues as religion, sexual politics, substance abuse and gun control.

Career highlights: Was attacked onstage while performing at the Manchester Comedy Store in 2007; became the first Australian to have his own HBO comedy special in 2009; created and starred in the FX-network comedy series Legit, which ran for two seasons (2013-14).

Knockout punch(line): “I’m not racist; I’m a bigot — it’s completely different.”

Kevin Hart

Born: Kevin Darnell Hart

Hometown: Philadelphia, Pa.

Current tour: What Now?

In Winnipeg: Thursday at 7 p.m., MTS Centre; tickets $49.50 to $125 at Ticketmaster, with only limited seats still available.

Age: 36

Height: 5-4

Tale of the tweets: 22.8 million followers (@KevinHart4real)

Social media slogan: “Everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to do the work.”

Technique/style: Self-deprecating reflections on life and relationships, with frequent references to his diminutive stature.

Career highlights: After seeing him perform standup in 2002, Judd Apatow cast Hart in the short-lived Fox sitcom Undeclared; subsequent to that, he landed roles in Scary Movie, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Little Fockers and The Five-Year Engagement. Co-created and starred in the made-for-cable comedy Real Husbands of Hollywood, and more recently has starred in The Wedding Ringer, Ride Along, About Last Night and Get Hard. Known for his relentless work ethic, maintaining a high-profile social-media presence, and for often leading “pop-up” 5K runs in cities in which he’s performing.

Knockout punch(line): “I’m a grown little man, for God’s sake!”

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca