Have I Got News For You, (TV Recording), London, 2003
Play: The School for Scandal: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2009
Musical: Spamalot: Playhouse Theatre, London, 2010
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2018
Always Be Comedy (2 shows): The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2019
Always Be Comedy Online: 2020
Always Be Comedy Online: 2020
Always Be Comedy Online: Tuesday Night Club: Online: 2020
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2020
Boothby Graffoe: Songs & Stories: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy Online: Tuesday Night Club: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy Online 1st Birthday Show: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2021
Just The Tonic Saturday Night Special: Leicester Comedy Festival, Just The Tonic @ Hansom Hall, Leicester, 2022
Always Be Comedy Online: Tuesday Night Club: Online: 2022
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2022
Always Be Comedy Online for Living Well Food Bank: Online: 2022
Always Be Comedy: Sambrook’s Brewery, Wandsworth, London, 2022
Always Be Comedy Online: Tuesday Night Club Christmas Show: Online: 2022
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2023
Comedian Marcus Brigstocke was on the panel of Have I Got News For You when I saw Bruce Forsyth host the show at a recording in 2003. Because Forsyth was ‘in charge’ of the recording and took over, Brigstocke took a back seat and remained relatively quiet during the recording.
I saw Brigstocke appear in the play The School for Scandal at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2009. Brigstocke was in an all-star cast in a light-hearted and fun production of the Richard Brindsley Sheridan classic farce about the misleading nature of appearances. In 2010, he played an inspired King Arthur in Monty Python’s Spamalot, the satirical musical parody written by Eric Idle and John Du Prez and is based loosely on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Brigstock was uproariously funny in the role.
I had surprisingly never seen comedian Marcus Brigstocke perform a comedy set even although he has been on the circuit for years. I was very pleasantly surprised when he headlined Always Be Comedy in March 2018. He told the audience early on that he hadn’t done a gig for six months and as a result he seemed to have found a lot more edgier style which made him all the more funnier. He was intelligent as well as clever and looked extremely confident and relaxed as he bounded around the stage delivering one very funny routine after another. He was also great at bantering with the audience and also very quick-witted when I said I was from Carlisle he replied that’s a big difference to London, a time difference! Maybe because this was the first proper time I have seen him on stage, his style is always like this but for me, this was the biggest surprise of the year so far and laugh out loud funny to boot.
In his Edinburgh Fringe preview show that I saw at Always Be Comedy in July 2018 Brigstocke took on a character that perfectly encapsulated the state of his already opinionated world. Playing the character made him get views across in a much more hilarious way and he was a big hit with the encouraging audience.
Brigstocke returned to Always Be Comedy in November 2019 working on new material and routines. He was extremely confident and fearless with the audience asking relevant questions, which made the crowd think and expanding on political, cultural and news-related ideas. He also appeared with Rachel Parris at the first Always Be Comedy Online show in April 2020 delivering a brilliant impersonation of Jeremy Vine which brought the house down. He appeared online again with Parris in June 2020 where he brilliantly lip synced to Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline – a song which I had attempt to sing many times at Always Be Comedy and dutifully joined in causing much hilarity. The online performances by Parris and Brigstocke led to a very successful Always Be Comedy Online Tuesday Night Club which featured games, stand-up comedy from both together, and solo and the lip sync challenge which, in the first bonus show featured Parris as Madonna and Brigstocke as Bon Jovi! The amount of work each week to entertain the audience is phenomenal and Brigstocke’s comic talent shines through so much that the show became a very popular weekly fixture.
Brigstocke appeared with his wife Rachel Parris for Always Be Comedy in September 2020. The live socially distanced show was a delight to watch as the two talented performers entertained for over an hour. They were clearly enjoying themselves, making each other laugh during the impressions, improvisation, sketches and songs.
Appearing as the online guest for Boothby Graffoe: Songs & Stories that I watched in January 2021, Brigstocke talked about his comic and film career from his first gig to appearing in big movies such as Love Actually,
Brigstocke appeared with his wife Rachel Parris for the Always Be Comedy Online 1st Birthday Show that I watched in April 2021. Together, they performed a special birthday song, a sketch of a radio phone-in featuring Brigstocke impersonating the broadcaster Jeremy Vine and Parris as the caller Margaret from Cornwall. They also finished the set with a lip sync battle. All these elements make up their popular Tuesday Night Club every Tuesday at Always Be Comedy Online. In June 2021, The Tuesday Night Club online celebrated its first birthday.
The comedian headlined an Always Be Comedy live show in November 2021. The new dad was beaming and delivered an excruciatingly funny set about his life during lockdown.
To end a particularly successful year, The Tuesday Night Christmas Club was online for Always Be Comedy in December 2021. Putting the difficult year in review with songs, sketches scathing comment, Brigstocke and wife Parris were as hilarious as ever.
The comedian was top of the bill for Just The Tonic Saturday Night Special at the Leicester Comedy Festival in February 2022. Easily making the audience laugh with political satire, he proved to be a big hit.
The Tuesday Night Club returned to Always Be Comedy online were Brigstocle was once again paired with wife Rachel Parris to provide glorious mid-week entertainment featuring impressions, games, routines and silliness.
Brigstocke performed for Always Be Comedy, both live and online in July 2022. At the live performance, he delivered a brilliant 90 minutes for his new Edinburgh Fringe show, Absolute Shower. Stories of living in lockdown, becoming a dad and featuring of course a Jeremy Vine phone-in, there were consistent big laughs in his polished performances. He returned to headline with a blisteringly hysterical, political-heavy set in October 2022. He also performed a Tuesday Night Club Christmas Show for Always Be Comedy Online with his wife in December 2022 which included a very humorous review of the year. The two also appeared together for Tuesday Night Club Live at Always Be Comedy in July 2023. Both also previewing new shows, Brigstocke’s Cheese and Whine, was based on his love of cheese, together with what annoyed the audience.
Brigstocke and his wife Parris are great comedians in their own right and have also proven to be a great comedy double act, which has been wonderful to see.