A review Marcus Brigstocke: Cheese and Whine, Fringe 2023

Rachel Parris’ husband fed me cheese.

So, yeah, please note that the premise of Marcus Brigstocke‘s show Cheese and Whine is to collect whines from the audience (via paper and pencil while you queue), read them out aloud, identify the contributor in the audience, discuss and then reward or punish with cheese.

If you’re lactose intolerant, you’re still welcome, at your own risk, but your experience might differ from the rest of the audience.

I did well! Marcus picked one of my whines at random (how early some coffee shops close), and, after some chat, I convinced him it was a valid concern, and I was rewarded with Lanark Blue, which was a little salty at first and delicious from first bite to last. 

Format and Topics

We started a little late, and I suspect that’s because the cabaret bar staff at the Pleasance have a small cheese board to set up. It was worth the wait.

There’s an introduction, some cheese jokes, and warm us up and remind the audience that we’re collectively guilty of knowing some ancient gags/we’re in this together. 

Then, from a large wine glass, Marcus begins to pick from the paper slips, which the audience has scribed a range of moans. These could be trivial, personal, to massive. My massive outcry was about the power of billionaires and my personal one about my leaky windows, so Marcus went for my trivial complaint about coffee shops. 

I wasn’t first. We reviewed several cheese and whine slips, and the format worked well. Marcus reads the whine he’s selected from the chit, finds the member (should they reveal themselves) in the audience, and then we chat. If the chat goes well, if there are jokes and anecdotes to be found, then it’s a long chat; if not, it’s not.

Each session with the audience concludes with Marcus pairing a cheese from the selection.

We paired some nestle-wrapped cheese with the Patriarchy. We found something suitably willful for the woman wrestling with an opinionated car and even for the chap who admitted to being unable to pee straight while visiting friends. The friend, whom Mr Squintypee was visiting, got a better cheese.

Vibe

It was a sellout show, and it’s not on for long. I was surrounded by people who had travelled to Edinburgh to see Marcus Brigstocke, and it made a difference. It’s a good crowd. 

The cabaret bar in the Pleasance Courtyard is a top Fringe festival venue, and the air conditioning machine makes a difference. 

A good crowd, a good venue, fine cheese, some whines, intelligent conversation and banter leads to an excellent vibe. 

Overall

Loved it. When does Cheese and Whine come to TV? I don’t have time for much zombie box distractions these days, but even I can spot a TV show prototype/pitch when I’m sitting in the middle of it.

Apparently, Marcus Brigstocke is in Masterchef right now but wouldn’t be drawn on whether he wins or not. I reckon he does. He gave no clue, but fate demands that the Masterchef 2023 winner has fed me cheese.

Get to mutual bonding exercise of cheese and whine dining if you can. You’ll love it.