Marcus Brigstocke: The Brig Society

Marcus Brigstocke comes on stage dancing to the theme tune from High School Musical. No, seriously. While this brief moment of frivolity may initially seem questionable, its lyrics, "we’re all in this together" tie neatly into Brigstocke’s overarching theme, or rather subject for attack: Cameron’s Big Society. Clever, that.

Brigstocke sets about lambasting the failings of the coalition, the banks and all of the other Big Important Things People Are Outraged By. But while open about his own boarding school education, Brigstocke suffers from a growing problem amongst certain comedians – middle class guilt. So desperate is he to distinguish himself from ‘Cam-moron’ and his cronies, the vast majority of his set is spent bemoaning their sense of entitlement and feverishly trying to cement his status as their complete antithesis. There are flashes of self-awareness when Brigstocke ridicules his own privileged upbringing (beagling, anyone?), but these are comparatively scarce, making his tirade seem a touch hypocritical.

Much of his observational humour (crass impersonations of Chinese people aside) is spot on, and a rant towards the end of his set about the ineptitudes of public transport users is sublime in its simplicity. Brigstocke does have a tendency, however, to get so carried away in his own MP-induced vitriol that he loses the audience completely, and his own political persuasions occasionally hinder, rather than help, the show. The Brig Society is intended as a comedy, after all, and Brigstocke would do well to remember that during his next diatribe.