A Class Act, by Rob Beckett

We often pick memoirs by UK comedians we both enjoy as audiobooks to listen to when my husband and I go on road trips. This one was fun; we haven’t seen a lot of Beckett’s stand-up (if any?) but have enjoyed watching him on panel shows and of course Taskmaster. (Rob randomly guessing the “What’s in the Briefcase” task is one of my favourite things from possibly my favourite Taskmaster task of all time, which got me hooked on the show).

While this is a memoir, and is quite funny, there is a serious question underlying it: what is social class, how does it operate in the UK, and what does it mean to move between classes. Rob Beckett’s family origins are solidly working class: does the fact that he’s now a well-off comedian mean that he’s changed social classes? What does it mean that his kids are being raised in a social class very different from the one Rob grew up in himself? Examining all these leads to some hilarious hijinks, as you might imagine, but also a few serious thoughts about the way we divide up and categorize people, and how you stay true to your roots when your circumstances change. I enjoyed this a lot.