Live at the Apollo: Jo Brand

Jo Brand walks onto the Hammersmith Apollo stage and immediately tells the audience not to panic because she is “a lot thinner and prettier in real life.” That quick, self-deprecating deflection sets the tone for a set built entirely on her signature dry, unimpressed posture. Standing almost completely still at the microphone, she targets the absurdities of aging, married life, and her completely failed attempts to connect with modern teenagers using horribly outdated slang.

This third episode of the show’s debut series (back when it was still called Jack Dee Live at the Apollo) was filmed in London in September 2004. By this time, Brand had spent two decades establishing herself as one of the UK’s most reliable alternative stand-ups. This performance captures her at her most comfortable, letting her slow, deadpan delivery puncture a notoriously stiff, celebrity-heavy theatre crowd.

Host Jack Dee bookends the evening with his own grumpy, misanthropic observations, providing a sour counterpoint to Brand’s domestic cynicism. His opening material deals with the misery of public transport and the general irritation of being alive, warming up the crowd for Brand’s relaxed, conversational dismantling of her own family life.