Brendon Burns Hasn't Heard of You Either

Brendon Burns has always been a comedian who revels in polarising audiences and slaughtering sacred cows. His latest show is unlikely to win him a new fanbase but is sure to delight those who have followed him since his Edinburgh debut in 1996.

This year he’s left behind the larger, more theatrical Fringe venues that beckoned following his Edinburgh Comedy Award triumph in 2007 and is working the more intimate environs of the Stand Comedy Club. It’s a venue which is a perfect fit for his brand of fiercely personal comedy.

The title of his show has a double meaning which provides the framework for an hour of tricksy and clever standup. Firstly, there’re the reasons why Burns has never made it big on television while, secondly, there’s the relatively recent revelation that the notoriously loud troublemaker has been largely deaf since childhood.

Burns is in mischievous form, taking the audience through his perceived failings with a knowing wink and a broad, larrikin smile. His newly-minted disabled persons railcard provides him with all the ammunition he needs to rail against society’s “fake morality”, challenging the use of derogatory terms in a way Ricky Gervais could only ever dream of.

An embarrassing appearance on morning television programme Daybreak is the only piece of straightforward standup on show. The rest of the set plays with language and expectation, flirting with offence at every opportunity but always ensuring that the ultimate victim is the “liberal white dickhead” on stage.