Marcus Brigstocke, Touring review - modern manhood laid bare

The title of Marcus Brigstocke’s latest show, Vitruvian Mango, is, like the man himself, rather clever. He appears on stage with a mocked-up version the Da Vinci drawing it references with his naked body replacing the artist’s model to illustrate the theme of the show, which I saw at the Alex in Faversham. His version of Da Vinci’s image of the perfect male form is, he attests, “sweeter, softer, seasonally available and, when ripe, delicately perfumed”.

Brigstocke – dressed in shirt and tie, with a comfy cardigan on top – addresses modern manhood and poses the question: what are men for? Now humans are no longer hunter-gatherers or cave-dwellers, do modern men serve any useful function, and if not are they lost?

Big questions, of course, and not your usual comedy fare. But really the show is a relaxed examination of some fraught issues, as Brigstocke meanders through the subject with a lot of gentle observational comedy, with the occasional spicy line.

He talks about his second marriage and his “deal-breaker” young son, born almost a generation after his first two children. Nothing ground-breaking here as Brigstocke recounts nappy mishaps and trips to the park, but the comic is honest enough to admit he’s a better – if less energetic – dad second time round at this fatherhood thing, having gained some wisdom along the way.

He begins, though, with some good audience interaction and on-point political comedy about the bunch of clowns he sees in the White House (complete with some very good impressions). He’s on safe ground here, even in north Kent, where one suspects his liberal politics may not be an entirely tight fit with some in the room. 

Then, not for the first time in the evening, he makes a sharp turn from daft to serious as he drops the grim fact that the leading cause of death in men under 50 is suicide. How did we get here?

In truth, Brigstocke doesn’t offer a cure, but at least he imparts some relatable humour about ADHD diagnoses among comics or the threat that AI poses to men. On the latter he’s particularly droll, as AI “will talk bollocks on any subject”.

He has another memorable take on what fertilisation really looks like, and a section on the awfulness of the influencer Andrew Tate. The switch between silly and serious isn't always seamless, but this is an evening of thought-provoking comedy served with some big laughs.

• Touring until 20 July
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