Marcus Brigstocke: God Collar
05 February, 2010
by: Evolmike
Mike Stephenson reviews the TV comic's latest stand-up tour.
Where have you heard of Marcus Brigstocke? Probably from the TV or radio. It's a bit odd for a comedian to be doing his second major stand-up tour when already many years into his career. But if anything this is a testament to his act: there is something very broadcastable about him. Something very... Radio 4. (Which I believe is English for "Je ne sais quoi.") So he is rather preceded by his reputation as a talking head, and perhaps as a bit of a pompous ponce. Which is fine, pompous ponces are funny and they appeal to the pompous ponce in all of us. He can get away with it too, because he's generally right about stuff. As a comic, it's easy to play the fool. It's tricky to play the smart guy. Anyone can apply observational humour, but actually having opinions and making them funny (without offending everyone) is a lot harder than Marcus makes it look.
On the other hand, it's not difficult to have funny opinions about religion. He does drift into other subjects but the supporting pillar of the act is (hence the title) religion. The pros, the cons, the arguments, the history, the politics, the funny outfits etc. At first you wonder if he's doing it purely for the pleasure of handling a hot potato, or if he's simply throwing meat to the atheist lions. But no, he's mainly playing with the potato, and being subtly respectful about it. Unless you're a fundamentalist nutjob you're not going to be too personally offended. He's not having stabs at you for believing any of it. In fact, the one he stabs at the most is, of all people, Richard Dawkins (Blessings and peace be upon him.) With a copy of the God Delusion to hand, Marcus frequently delights in mocking and impersonating the Professor's elite smugness and sneering superiority. Which I thought was a bit rough. Okay he may have a point but he's not really the one to be making it. When a pompous ponce punches another ponce for being pompous, the pomp itself just gets plum plugged.
Plus, the points he makes are almost all congruent with Dawkins' views and in many cases his jokes lend themselves to points made in the God Delusion. Talk about biting the hand that feeds. I don't know what's going on there, maybe he's trying to surprise us by distancing himself from the de facto head of the atheist church. It comes across as a bit rude. Although he does give the perfect nutshell description of Christopher Hitchens - “A really intelligent guy, drunk and challenging God to a fight.” So true.
He's funny, in a deliberated way. Very slick. A bit smug, but you have to be a bit smug to be slick. Right, Professor?
See more London stand-up
See more London comedy
Marcus Brigstocke: God Collar
05 February, 2010
by: Evolmike
Mike Stephenson reviews the TV comic's latest stand-up tour.
Where have you heard of Marcus Brigstocke? Probably from the TV or radio. It's a bit odd for a comedian to be doing his second major stand-up tour when already many years into his career. But if anything this is a testament to his act: there is something very broadcastable about him. Something very... Radio 4. (Which I believe is English for "Je ne sais quoi.") So he is rather preceded by his reputation as a talking head, and perhaps as a bit of a pompous ponce. Which is fine, pompous ponces are funny and they appeal to the pompous ponce in all of us. He can get away with it too, because he's generally right about stuff. As a comic, it's easy to play the fool. It's tricky to play the smart guy. Anyone can apply observational humour, but actually having opinions and making them funny (without offending everyone) is a lot harder than Marcus makes it look.
On the other hand, it's not difficult to have funny opinions about religion. He does drift into other subjects but the supporting pillar of the act is (hence the title) religion. The pros, the cons, the arguments, the history, the politics, the funny outfits etc. At first you wonder if he's doing it purely for the pleasure of handling a hot potato, or if he's simply throwing meat to the atheist lions. But no, he's mainly playing with the potato, and being subtly respectful about it. Unless you're a fundamentalist nutjob you're not going to be too personally offended. He's not having stabs at you for believing any of it. In fact, the one he stabs at the most is, of all people, Richard Dawkins (Blessings and peace be upon him.) With a copy of the God Delusion to hand, Marcus frequently delights in mocking and impersonating the Professor's elite smugness and sneering superiority. Which I thought was a bit rough. Okay he may have a point but he's not really the one to be making it. When a pompous ponce punches another ponce for being pompous, the pomp itself just gets plum plugged.
Plus, the points he makes are almost all congruent with Dawkins' views and in many cases his jokes lend themselves to points made in the God Delusion. Talk about biting the hand that feeds. I don't know what's going on there, maybe he's trying to surprise us by distancing himself from the de facto head of the atheist church. It comes across as a bit rude. Although he does give the perfect nutshell description of Christopher Hitchens - “A really intelligent guy, drunk and challenging God to a fight.” So true.
He's funny, in a deliberated way. Very slick. A bit smug, but you have to be a bit smug to be slick. Right, Professor?
See more London stand-up
See more London comedy
Marcus Brigstocke: God Collar
05 February, 2010
by: Evolmike
Mike Stephenson reviews the TV comic's latest stand-up tour.
Where have you heard of Marcus Brigstocke? Probably from the TV or radio. It's a bit odd for a comedian to be doing his second major stand-up tour when already many years into his career. But if anything this is a testament to his act: there is something very broadcastable about him. Something very... Radio 4. (Which I believe is English for "Je ne sais quoi.") So he is rather preceded by his reputation as a talking head, and perhaps as a bit of a pompous ponce. Which is fine, pompous ponces are funny and they appeal to the pompous ponce in all of us. He can get away with it too, because he's generally right about stuff. As a comic, it's easy to play the fool. It's tricky to play the smart guy. Anyone can apply observational humour, but actually having opinions and making them funny (without offending everyone) is a lot harder than Marcus makes it look.
On the other hand, it's not difficult to have funny opinions about religion. He does drift into other subjects but the supporting pillar of the act is (hence the title) religion. The pros, the cons, the arguments, the history, the politics, the funny outfits etc. At first you wonder if he's doing it purely for the pleasure of handling a hot potato, or if he's simply throwing meat to the atheist lions. But no, he's mainly playing with the potato, and being subtly respectful about it. Unless you're a fundamentalist nutjob you're not going to be too personally offended. He's not having stabs at you for believing any of it. In fact, the one he stabs at the most is, of all people, Richard Dawkins (Blessings and peace be upon him.) With a copy of the God Delusion to hand, Marcus frequently delights in mocking and impersonating the Professor's elite smugness and sneering superiority. Which I thought was a bit rough. Okay he may have a point but he's not really the one to be making it. When a pompous ponce punches another ponce for being pompous, the pomp itself just gets plum plugged.
Plus, the points he makes are almost all congruent with Dawkins' views and in many cases his jokes lend themselves to points made in the God Delusion. Talk about biting the hand that feeds. I don't know what's going on there, maybe he's trying to surprise us by distancing himself from the de facto head of the atheist church. It comes across as a bit rude. Although he does give the perfect nutshell description of Christopher Hitchens - “A really intelligent guy, drunk and challenging God to a fight.” So true.
He's funny, in a deliberated way. Very slick. A bit smug, but you have to be a bit smug to be slick. Right, Professor?
See more London stand-up
See more London comedy
Marcus Brigstocke: God Collar
05 February, 2010
by: Evolmike
Mike Stephenson reviews the TV comic's latest stand-up tour.
Where have you heard of Marcus Brigstocke? Probably from the TV or radio. It's a bit odd for a comedian to be doing his second major stand-up tour when already many years into his career. But if anything this is a testament to his act: there is something very broadcastable about him. Something very... Radio 4. (Which I believe is English for "Je ne sais quoi.") So he is rather preceded by his reputation as a talking head, and perhaps as a bit of a pompous ponce. Which is fine, pompous ponces are funny and they appeal to the pompous ponce in all of us. He can get away with it too, because he's generally right about stuff. As a comic, it's easy to play the fool. It's tricky to play the smart guy. Anyone can apply observational humour, but actually having opinions and making them funny (without offending everyone) is a lot harder than Marcus makes it look.
On the other hand, it's not difficult to have funny opinions about religion. He does drift into other subjects but the supporting pillar of the act is (hence the title) religion. The pros, the cons, the arguments, the history, the politics, the funny outfits etc. At first you wonder if he's doing it purely for the pleasure of handling a hot potato, or if he's simply throwing meat to the atheist lions. But no, he's mainly playing with the potato, and being subtly respectful about it. Unless you're a fundamentalist nutjob you're not going to be too personally offended. He's not having stabs at you for believing any of it. In fact, the one he stabs at the most is, of all people, Richard Dawkins (Blessings and peace be upon him.) With a copy of the God Delusion to hand, Marcus frequently delights in mocking and impersonating the Professor's elite smugness and sneering superiority. Which I thought was a bit rough. Okay he may have a point but he's not really the one to be making it. When a pompous ponce punches another ponce for being pompous, the pomp itself just gets plum plugged.
Plus, the points he makes are almost all congruent with Dawkins' views and in many cases his jokes lend themselves to points made in the God Delusion. Talk about biting the hand that feeds. I don't know what's going on there, maybe he's trying to surprise us by distancing himself from the de facto head of the atheist church. It comes across as a bit rude. Although he does give the perfect nutshell description of Christopher Hitchens - “A really intelligent guy, drunk and challenging God to a fight.” So true.
He's funny, in a deliberated way. Very slick. A bit smug, but you have to be a bit smug to be slick. Right, Professor?
See more London stand-up
See more London comedy
Add an event