Well, who knew this was going to blow minds? Jack Brookmyre rocks up in an oversized denim gilet bedecked with death metal badges, looking like – his description – Harry Potter doing a school shooting, with a publicity blurb extolling his impressions of Donald Trump and David Attenborough. Not wildly promising, perhaps, for the future of Scottish comedy. But the Glaswegian has swiftly learned the secret of doing a good hour as an impressionist, for this debut show: don’t do too many impressions.
Actually that’s not entirely fair; he also does frequent voices of regular folk to embellish the storytelling, which is whip-smart already. Aside from the celebrity impressions, it turns out, Brookmyre is a gloriously visceral standup, packing this show with savvy observations, impassioned opinions and some fabulously caustic gags.
His overall theme is accents, how different voices, and delivery, affect our perception – particularly of politicians. Generally speaking the celebrity sketches are the weakest bits here, but his voices really work when integrated into the overall narrative. He’s clearly decided to do something worthwhile with this new platform, even offering sage advice – at 26 – on how to talk to people with unhealthy views.
And it rocks the room. Even he looks slightly staggered by the response. Best get used to it.
Jack Brookmyre: Impressionable, The Stand Comedy Club, until 30 Aug (not 17), 6.55pm