Mock the Week regular Andy Parsons live DVD Gruntled is out on November 14th, but what can you expect from the follow up to 2009’s Britain’s Got Idiots?
Well it’s pretty much more of the same. What you get with Parsons is exactly what you should expect – ranting, some anger and frustration concerning the state of the world and plenty of whimsical observations thrown in just to remind you that you’re watching a comedian and not a student protest.
While some people might argue that Parsons doesn’t go far enough in his political critique – let’s face it, we mean the dirty, highbrow word “satire” – he certainly does enough to get you thinking. Ultimately, he wants to stay popular, and you only have to look at some of his forebears to see why. Both Mark Thomas and Rob Newman were renowned for letting their routines become politicized back in the day, and where are they now?
Certainly not releasing DVDs of sell out tours.
With routines about David Cameron and the 2011 August riots, the state of the economy and even Innocent smoothies (one worth remembering after you’ve seen it) this live DVD was recorded at the Shepherds Bush Empire on Thursday 15th September in front of a very appreciative audience, and it is easy to see why.
Behind the gruff, balding and bearded exterior, he always comes across as a friendly chap, pacing around the stage expressing our own exasperation with the state of Great Britain and the world at large. The baldness and height might give him the appearance of an unnecessarily angry little man with delusions of how the world should be if he was anything but articulate, and combined with occasional sit-down chats with the audience in which he calms down and regales us with facts about his everyday life and past experience as part of a double act with an unnamed Henry Naylor you can see why Parsons has generated a strong following over the years thanks to his appearance on Mock the Week and various radio shows.
The choice is easy with this one. If you would rather listen to jokes about tits, fannies, shagging and worse, then head for Paddy McGuinness or even risk your sanity watching Chubby Brown “eff and jeff” at an audience who should know better.
But if you’re a man or woman who regularly shouts at the TV in frustration then you’re in Andy’s club already. We might as well all be gruntled together, don’t you think?
Released on November 14th, Andy Parsons Gruntled – Live 2011 is available to order now from Amazon on DVD for £12.93 and Blu-ray for £17.49!