Russell Brand is a bit like Marmite – you either love him or hate him. A bit like the man himself, there are no half measures – the award-winning comedian, writer, actor and presenter is one of the UK’s most outspoken characters and has frequently found himself in hot water.
Despite this – or perhaps because of it – he’s one of the most recognisable and best-loved comedy performers in the world, with a series of sold-out tours, best-selling DVDs and a number of major film roles to his name.
Since 2013, the 43-year-old has appeared more frequently as a campaigner for serious issues rather than an entertainer and has become known as a public activist and campaigner, speaking on a wide range of political and cultural issues, including wealth inequality, addiction, corporate capitalism, climate change, and media bias.
And now he’s on tour with a brand new show inspired by the birth of his daughter Mabel with partner Laura Gallacher. Called Re: Birth, the premise is that Russell feels that he has been personally reborn as a result of the birth of his daughter, a life-changing experience the former hellraiser calls “an epiphany”.
“When I talk about my hedonistic past, it’s different because I’m not living it any more. It’s determinedly a time that is over. I’m talking about that behaviour from a completely different point of view – it’s not that – it’s like an epiphany.”
“I didn’t realise until I started talking about the birth how many moments were wrenching apart my consciousness because it changes everything,” he explains.
“It changes how I think of the world; the fact that she is my daughter changes the way I think about gender. And being a father is a massive download, it is a massive reboot. My whole head feels different and unusual – it has inspired loads of different thoughts,” he continues.
The show includes clips of Russell on Paxman, outside Downing Street and “funny clips” of Donald Trump criticising him.
“I talk about all that in the context of being a father,” Russell explains.
“I also talk about how it feels to be a reformed womaniser in a monogamous relationship and how that’s changed my feelings about sexuality and sex.
“But,” he continues, “the show is also about whether or not there is a thing that you can call your ‘essential self’, how you can get in contact with it, and how you find your way to the truth of who you are.
“I hope that’s not just an evolution of my own selfishness. It’s a massive change – a massive change in the way that I see sex, the world, women, politics, myself, everything. Once you experience a change in the way that you look at yourself then the way that you see everything is going to change.”
While Russell’s earlier shows were more about him living in a mad, glittery world, he explains that Re: Birth is more “normal”.
“Nothing is more normal and spectacular than seeing a child being born and nothing is likely to have a more profound effect on you,” he reflects. “In this show I am commentating from a ringside seat on the process of childbirth – of being in the room and watching it happen, and watching how it made me feel.
“But I’m also looking back at my past and thinking ‘oh my God, I’ve done all these things’ and looking towards my future and what I am going to be like as a parent, what I am going to be like as a father, and what that means for the world that I live in, and the world I want to live in.”
Russell Brand – Re:Birth, Perth Concert Hall, April 12, 8pm. Age guidance 16 plus.
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