On his sixth UK tour, Geoff Norcott will try to make sense of the current cultural and political scene with his playfully provocative brand of humour. Whether it’s the dire blandness of the two main parties or the shamelessly shoe-horned right-on messages in adverts and films, Geoff will continue to tread in areas much of comedy leaves well alone. But this time around he also has a mission. As well as casting his everyman eye over what’s happening in broader society, Geoff is trying to unpick what’s happening with your average bloke. Remember them?
It’s been a rough couple of years for blokes. Toxic masculinity has grabbed all the headlines and ruined it for communal garden geezers, who have been put under the microscope like never before. At first glance, there’s not much to examine – there’s no Bloke 2.0.
Taking up his own bloke’s-eye-view, Geoff can see that despite the social media vortex, your man in the street, average Joe, man on the Clapham Omnibus and your John Smiths just keep plodding on, fuelled by a diet of football, sheds, super-hero films, sporting autobiographies, wearing socks at all times and strategically burying feelings when necessary.
However, under the paraphernalia of manhood and the sometimes basic, even primal, behaviour of dads and lads, Geoff can see that there is something mysterious and definitely non-toxic going on.
A kindly and funny stock-take of both himself and his fellow man, Basic Bloke unlocks some of the more complicated behaviour of your husbands, dads and brothers.