Friday 20th June 2025, Theatre 118, Glasgow
Gibby is a left-wing punk rocker who went down an online right-wing rabbit hole during the pandemic and is now somewhat confused. He’s railing at the woke, but he’s not sure what for, and he’s appearing at a disease-positive summer festival at the end of his latest, surprisingly intimate, tour.
Gibby isn’t the only punk rocker of his generation accidentally switching sides after a prolonged exposure to the flame-wars of Twitter and the cults of Facebook. The social media timelines of minor and major celebrities have turned into Alex Jones fever dreams, whether it’s children’s authors obsessed with toilets, dance producers alarmed by small boats or sportsmen refusing to eat the bugs. Things that are barely an issue in real life are apocalyptic power struggles on X, while wars break out to the East, infrastructure crumbles, landlords turn housing into unaffordable death traps and nature is polluted to loud but disregarded outrage.
Maybe it’s the refractory nature of daily life that tipped them into the internet’s soap opera. Paying bills, housekeeping, work, money, community, family, love, we’re launched into these things at birth, are expected to contribute from adulthood, and don’t get a break until death. Old things loom over us, and new things are an affront, but you can always spend months in a running battle with a teenager in Pittsburgh that results in firings, court cases, suicides and Trump getting elected. It’s a closed world, with a strong narrative, that rewards as well as punishes.
Gibby, played by writer and musician, Stephen Brackenridge, is a warm-hearted soul. He loves the political drama in the same way he loves singing. It’s energy and rebellion, and it makes no sense to anyone outside of the scene. The show is part gig, part stand-up storytelling and part workshop. Gibby will teach you how to be a punk rocker, while he copes with heartache, a career dip and a highly competitive seagull. The songs are funny and ruckus, the satire is sharp, the costume is outlandish and the venue has a mind of its own.
I’m not going to lie. I’ll be hanging around the snacks (please donate) or lurking on the door (like a speakeasy, it require a code) because I’m part of the collective that runs 118. If I hated the show I would stay deathly silent, but as I love it, and it’s entertaining and topical, I’ve no hesitation in recommending it.
Catch it on Saturday 21st of June 2025: for tickets click here or look out for Gibby’s arena tour, coming when he gets an advance. Or a loan. Or a credit card.
Kay Marquis 