Pleasance Courtyard
Aug 17-27 (Times vary)

Material:   Delivery:   Laughs: 

This was the first time that I have seen Lee (aka Simon Brodkin) and I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Like most of us, I have sen glimpses of Lee previously when he was a younger version of his alter-ego Chav. He still comes across a wee Chav, but a bit more grown up now, so no short trousers. Bobbing along to the Pleasance Dome I was filled with a good degree of confidence that I was in for a few laughs for sure. I was a bit surprised by the size of the venue, & honestly thought it would have been in a bigger room, but the space was nice enough and gave the performance a very intimate feel, which was great. We were sitting just to the right of the stage, behind the glass divide in the bar; great seats, all-in-all, with a cracking view over the stage.

The lights dimmed, the spotlight shone on the stage, and there Lee was, ready to shower us in his banter. Certain touches did seem to hank back to the (young chav) days, but thankfully not that much. We’ve all grown up a bit now, & we have a new and more polished Lee in front of us who still gets away with his wee cheeky chappy persona. There seems to be a lot more going on these days in Lee’s life, and he duly updates us all on himself and his family; which was nice and a source of some decent material at points. Most of his jokes thankfully bounced off the crowd, who he used skilfully to get us all laughing at each other. Some of his audience participation was great, and one part especially saw a young lad in the audience get the biggest laugh of the night… and I reckon a bit of bother later on with his mum!

Overall Lee’s humour was on it, and his performance had a good mix of pace and energy. He is a seasoned pro and if you are looking for a few half-decent laughs, he is definitely your man as he mixes topical events, Scottcisms jokes and great one liners, all delivered flawlessly to rapturous applause. Lee was great, and controlled the audience well… there were a couple of people trying to heckle him but it would not be advised with Lee his wit is far too sharp and he doesn’t suffer fools lightly! The show flew by and the hour was gone far too quickly, which is always a good signal you’ve been having fun.

Reviewer : Mark Parker