AFTER two decades of performing to audiences up and down the country, Simon Brodkin arrived in Carlisle this week as part of his extended ‘Troublemaker’ tour.

Taking to the Harraby Theatre stage, the man who brought us lovable chav Lee Nelson and dozy footballer Jason Bent immediately expressed his shock at the number of security staff on duty, joking that they probably outnumbered the quiet crowd in attendance.

After a quick scan through a certain newspaper, Brodkin started to have a chat with a number of audience members, including three couples in the front who travelled from Edinburgh to see him and a father and son who enjoy going to events together, the last one being Simon’s last show in the city back in 2019.

 

 

Discussing his time as a doctor and studying medicine at the University of Manchester, where he received a telling off for suggesting that the best thing the place can do for someone who had just been saved from drowning was to stick them in a bowl of rice, the comic closed the first half joking about current news stories.

During the second half of the show Simon shared stories about his stunts, from gatecrashing Donald Trump’s conference at Turnberry to enjoying jokes with Swiss prison officers after sabotaging a press conference with then FIFA head Sepp Blatter.

The show came to an end with a sentimental touch, with the comic sharing his difficulties with looking after his children when his wife took a week’s holiday and how men find it hard to share their feelings with one another.

Proud to continue touring in smaller venues rather than telling polite jokes in huge arenas, Brodkin kept the crowd giggling away with his anecdotes, warming the audience’s hearts on a rather chilly Wednesday evening.

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