Controversial? Shocking? Incendiary? Well, if you think so, you probably weren’t listening properly.

Brendon Burns certainly has a reputation for all those things, and with some justification, having built a career on being one of the loudest, most aggressive, and frequently boorishly insensitive acts on the circuit. But increasingly he added thought to his fury, culminating in this show, which rightly scooped the if.comedy award at the Edinburgh Fringe last year.

His theme is the subject of offence itself, a topic that’s rarely as apt, given the Russell Brand/Jonathan Ross backlash. Indeed, Mr Brand gets an early mention in this show – but it was recorded ‘Manuelgate’, so that storm in a teacup sadly never gets a mention.

But plenty of controversies do, and, as expected, Burns has little time for those who take umbrage so easily: zealots upset by naming a teddy bear Mohammed, for example. Lighten up, is the message, have a laugh at yourself – we’re all so inherently ridiculous that you should be able to take a few jokes about your race or background.

At least, that’s one message, for this mature and complex show is never quite as unambiguous as that. Because the show has its origins in the moment Burns found himself hoist by his own petard: when he stormed off ITV2’s I’m A Celebrity… spin-off after producers asked him to wear the stereotypically Australian corked hat. ‘I was offended,’ Burns admits. ‘And really pretentious about it.’

Eventually, he saw the funny side, but it forced him to ask questions about the nature of offence, all of which are addressed here. As if to underline the points, a disgruntled woman in the audience takes issue with his material, creating an unmistakeable air of tension in the room. The filming puts you right in there, too, thanks to mirrors cunningly placed behind Burns, so you see the audience and the performance simultaneously.

At Edinburgh, this show got talked about because of the big finish, but this DVD (of a performance even sharper than the award-winning one) proves there’s some substance in the build up to that impressive moment, too.

Release date: November 17, 2008

RRP: £19.99