Preview: Brendon Burns & Jason Cook at The Grinning Idiot
Xmas Show: Brendon Burns & Jason Cook
The Grinning Idiot Comedy Club have a lovely habit of bringing the world’s top comedians to the North East, and this Christmas is no different as they showcase Brendon Burns and Jason Cook across four venues in the North East.
For those of you unfamiliar with Aussie comedian Brendon Burns, he’s an award winning stand up who constantly courts controversy with his outspoken and outrageous routines.
In 2007 Burns won the If.Commeddie (formerly Perrier) award for his Edinburgh festival show ‘So I Suppose THIS is Offensive Now’, centred on the idea of what people think you should and shouldn’t say on stage. Burns also explored the personal bigotries and prejudices harboured by some of the seemingly outraged audience members. You know, the ones who’ve put their copy of the Daily Mail down long enough to take note and complain. This thought-provoking and intelligent show was subsequently released on DVD under the same name as the show title.
Burns is no stranger to being offended himself, as he admits (on his second live DVD Sober Not Clean) in a routine about storming off on live TV and quitting his presenting role on ITV2’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here Now! Burns’ other TV credits include Channel 4’s Stand Up for the Week and BBC3’s Comedy Shuffle.
If I had to throw down my cards and name a comedian that we should all know the name of by now I couldn’t think of anyone better to put forward than Brendon Burns -but then again, you’re not likely to switch on your television and see Burns’ face on prime time BBC any time soon. Catch him where he’s at his best, live on stage in intimate venues, and let him take your funny bone, and perhaps your moral compass, to their very limits.
Supporting Brendon Burns at The Grinning Idiot Comedy Club is one of the top comedians in the North East, Jason Cook. Much like Burns’ latest show ‘You Know – Love ‘n’ God ‘n’ Metaphysics ‘n’ Shit’, Cook’s comedy is all about life, love, and loss. His superb debut solo show, My Confessions, is testament to that, and his most recent offering, The End: Part 1, (reviewed by Giggle Beats at the 2010 Fringe) was another emotive, powerful performance from the Hebburn-born comedian. Jason Cook is a fantastic entertainer, and to see him and Brendon Burns perform on the same night will be a real treat. This is one show not to be missed this Christmas.
Tickets for this show are priced at £10adv or £12 on the door, and are available from The Grinning Idiot website here.
