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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Bit Much...

Josh Widdicombe

Sky · 2022 · 48 min

An hour of highly coordinated whingeing about the modern world.

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Josh Widdicombe has built a career on sounding like a man who is personally insulted by the mildest inconveniences of modern life. His agitation escalates into high-pitched panic over the utter pointlessness of pesto, the design of advent calendars, and the sheer audacity of organic vegetable delivery boxes. The peak of this domestic outrage is a pedantic analysis of the word “dusk” and how his local East London park uses it to justify closing at completely unpredictable hours. It is an hour of pure, concentrated exasperation from a comic who is fully aware that his job is simply to complain on stage.

Filmed at the London Palladium in March 2022, the special captured Widdicombe at a busy transition point in his career. While managing the massive success of his Lockdown Parenting Hell podcast with Rob Beckett, this tour marked his first live stand-up outing since becoming a father. The new parental perspective briefly leaks into the set with a routine about baby monitors and 3D scans, but he quickly pivots back to his comforting, low-stakes irritation. The show ends with an exhaustive dismantling of traditional weddings, checking off every single formal convention with equal, calculated annoyance.

The set list

4 bits

  1. Advent calendars, weddings, and local park closing times

    Tackling mundane everyday domestic frustrations as if they were pressing comedic issues.

  2. Modern video baby monitors

    Observes how high-tech monitors providing images alongside sound induce existential terror in a new father.

  3. Pesto pasta portions

    Muses over the dilemma of what to do with the remaining contents of a pesto jar after serving a single portion.

  4. WhatsApp status updates

    Jokes about the messaging app constantly broadcasting and exposing your activity.

How it plays

Tone
Observational, gently self-deprecating, mildly exasperated, and cheery.
On stage
An 'ace observationalist' with a non-offensive schoolboy charm and an 'eternally slighted' comedic persona centered on mild outrage, peevishness, and relatable complaining.
Pace
Shrill comic rage balanced with confident, relaxed delivery and easy stage presence.
About
advent calendars, weddings and gift lists, the closing time of his local park, new fatherhood and baby monitors, organic vegetable box subscriptions, aging and drinking

What the critics said

Praised for his skill as an observant chronicler of mundane domestic life with natural charm and reliable laughs, though some critics felt his trademark whingeing and peevishness could occasionally feel mechanical.

In the room: Warm and receptive to relatable, recognizable everyday scenarios.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: tv.apple.com, themoviedb.org, joshwiddicombe.com, nowtv.com, theguardian.com, bournemouthecho.co.uk, yorkpress.co.uk, letterboxd.com, imdb.com, comedy.co.uk.

Backstory

Filmed during his covid-era standup tour, alongside adjusting to new fatherhood and family life.

Details

Released
Taped
The London Palladium
Runtime
48 min
Where
Sky
Director
Chris Howe
Topics
Before
What Do I Do Now... Live (2016)

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