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Promotional art for Power & Chaos
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Prime Video

Power & Chaos

Fern Brady

BBC iPlayer · 2021 · 55 min

A sharp, cynical hour of stand-up from a Scottish club veteran.

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Fern Brady is not interested in being polite. Filmed at Glasgow’s Oran Mor shortly before the 2020 lockdown, Power & Chaos leans heavily into her reputation as a confrontational, blunt presence. The hour works best when she is actively trying to make someone uncomfortable, particularly in her routine about transforming into the “patron saint of cat-called women”—a bit where she describes making street harassers deeply regret opening their mouths.

Released on television and streaming in 2021, the special arrived just before Brady’s breakout appearance on Taskmaster introduced her to a wider mainstream audience. Here, she is still very much the club-hardened cynic, working through a set that targets everything from a politician’s failed attempt to cancel her to the grim realities of Scottish amateur pornography.

Brady’s material is episodic, bouncing from her time spent in a mental health unit and early realizations about being on the autism spectrum to her experiences with bisexuality. Instead of aiming for a neat, overarching thesis, she relies on her distinctive Bathgate brogue to deliver sharp, unsentimental routines about class, internet creeps, and her own skepticism toward mindfulness. She is consistently at her best when she is slightly irritated.

The set list

3 bits

  1. Clash with DUP leader Arlene Foster

    Explains her theory that the homophobic politician's stance stems from being a closeted lesbian.

  2. Dealing with cat-callers and street harassment

    Describes formulating gruesome responses to men who wolf-whistle to make them regret approaching her.

  3. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Cute animal video sign-off closer

    Plays a wholesome animal clip undercut by grim commentary reflecting on the futility of a wasted life.

How it plays

Tone
Acerbic, frank, cynical, and darkly irreverent.
On stage
Blunt, caustic, and unapologetic; combines a spiky, combative edge with a relaxed, cool demeanor.
Pace
Laid-back yet incisive, unhurriedly delivering devastating punchlines before calmly sipping water.
About
sexuality and bisexuality, Scottish identity and stereotypes, mental illness and Asperger's diagnosis, male privilege and street harassment, parenthood and broodiness, politics

What the critics said

Widely praised by reviewers for its fearless writing, authentic vulnerability, and sharp, caustic wit that avoids conventional comedy clichés.

In the room: Packed and lively Glasgow audience that audibly gasped at her dark abortion jokes.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: tv.apple.com, stage.bbc.co.uk, bbc.co.uk, comedy.co.uk, chortle.co.uk, theguardian.com, fest-mag.com, farragomagazine.com, chicagomaroon.com, themuseletter.substack.com.

Backstory

Filmed in Glasgow prior to the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, following controversy surrounding her television appearance where she came out as bisexual and sparked a clash with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.

Details

Released
Taped
Oran Mor, Glasgow
Runtime
55 min
Where
BBC iPlayer
Director
Sean Emer
Honors
Vogue's 'Five Best New British Female Comics' selection
Topics
Before
Male Comedienne (2017)
After
Autistic Bikini Queen (2024)

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