Comedy review: Simon Brodkin - 100% Simon Brodkin, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh
Simon Brodkin - 100% Simon Brodkin, Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) ****
Establishing himself as a privileged, indulged manchild in middle-age, a self-declared “crap dad”, his wife’s endurance and disdain is revealed in the indiscreet testimony of his oblivious self-focus.
Brodkin’s spouse and offspring have zero dimension beyond casting him in a more rascally relief and serving as the set-up for jokes, of which there is an impressively high hit-rate. But while several of these have a porn-inflected hue, it’s Brodkin’s relationship with his daughter that teases out this otherwise secular Jew’s concerns about rising anti-Semitism, how it has affected his feelings towards the Labour party and the abuse he has received online.
Elsewhere, a hilarious line about the robbery of Michael McIntyre has an enjoyably Nelson-esque echo while reinforcing a projection of Brodkin’s petty insecurity about his own career. He is perhaps over-fond of the pullback and reveal-style gag, but they are invariably well executed. And he does pursue a more subtle line of enquiry into male emotional inarticulacy that brings the show to a satisfying end. 100% Simon Brodkin is a welcome evolution. - Jay Richardson
Until 24 August. Today 9:30pm