Simon Brodkin: Unleashed

Simon Brodkin brings his new show, Unleashed, to the Regent Theatre on Friday 6 November. If you've followed his career, you'll know him as one of the most exciting stand-up comedians working today, though you might first recognise him as Lee Nelson — the character who showered FIFA president Sepp Blatter with cash, handed Prime Minister Theresa May her P45, and fronted the BBC comedy series Lee Nelson's Well Good Show.

Unleashed is his latest tour, and it's a bit of a departure from the character work of his early days. It's built around outrageous punchlines and electric crowdwork, and he spends a good deal of the set ripping into a wide range of targets: wild swimmers, vape shops, Greta Thunberg, religion, and his wife's friends, Claire and Carl. It's not just stand-up, either — the show blends comedy and music throughout.

To give you a sense of the scale he's working at, his previous tour, Screwed Up, was a massive run: it was extended three times to 170 dates around the world and ended with three sold-out nights at London's Hammersmith Apollo. Unleashed is the new one, and the Birmingham date falls on Friday 6 November at the Regent Theatre.