Brigstocke bites (a bit)

Marcus Brigstocke has always been a bit Radio 4; middle-class, intelligent and a tad smug. So what better place for him to perform than the festival that is essentially a live version of the sleepy radio channel (literally at some points – Brigstocke has just come from performing Just a Minute)? It’s unashamed middle-class armchair liberalism, but there’s nothing wrong with that.

 

In all there are seven Hayite rounds of applause, for anti-Blair, anti-Bush, anti-Littlejohn rants, and the smugness does at points become a bit stifling in the crowded tent in the middle of Wales. But beyond this Brigstocke is charming, interesting and original; everything the Hay crowd would like to think they are (but aren’t).

 

He’s taken on a harder edge recently, whether it’s a reaction to the state of the world or a career move it doesn’t matter, he has more bite and that can only be a good thing. Of course he hasn’t become some sort of corduroy-clad Bill Hicks but he comes across as one of the few comedians peddling political material because he actually cares and his act makes you think far more than a lecture from AA Gill or Simon Schama ever will.

Josh Widdicombe www.suchsmallportions.com