Even if you’ve not been watching The Mash Report on telly, you’ll definitely have seen clips of the show across social media, as their sketches have a tendency of going mad viral. Coupling social and political issues with humour, the satire show is expertly taking serious topics and putting them front and centre. Heck, Piers Morgan complained about one of their sketches – so they’ve got to be doing something right.
Don’t know what you’re missing? Here are five totally excellent sketches from the show to get you started.
When Rachel Parris brilliantly reminded you that it’s dead easy not to sexually harass somebody
Why it’s excellent? In the wake of #MeToo there were numerous, ridiculous, articles published that claimed that men couldn’t even talk to women any more as they were so worried they could be accused of sexually harassing them. In this brilliant sketch Rachel Parris destroyed this idea that harassment is difficult to understand, without breaking a sweat or raising her voice, and garnering over 27 million online views in the process.
When Nish Kumar schooled those saying we need to “ask hard questions about immigration”
Is David Attenborough the answer to the government's problems? ?
Here's @MrNishKumar on the thorny issue of immigration… #TheMashReport pic.twitter.com/70n6Zpd3I3
— BBC Two (@BBCTwo) February 20, 2018
Why it’s excellent? As eloquent as he is funny, Nish Kumar points out that people just don’t want to listen to the facts about immigration and instead blindly follow hateful rhetoric, and that immigration has merely been used to score political points. Referring to previous studies and with armfuls of facts, Nish succinctly shows that the reasons people are anti-immigration are usually factually incorrect.
When Desiree Burch reminded us that racism is still very present in 2018
LISTEN UP! @destheray’s piece on racism will be the best six minutes you’ll see on Twitter today… ? #TheMashReport pic.twitter.com/0tgMfGuKgm
— BBC Two (@BBCTwo) February 12, 2018
Why it’s excellent? The brilliant Desiree Burch takes on racism in the US, looking back over 400 years of history and discussing what could be done to unite America. Over the segment the comedian draws witty analogies, before concluding with her flawless finale, saying: “so all we can do now is work together to fight systemic oppression for all people of colour, and fight for empathy, equality and understanding, and most importantly, fight to get a god damn McRib back on a McDonalds menu!”
When Rachel Parris reminded us that people should be looking at Jacob Rees-Mogg’s voting record, not just his posh outfits
Is that quirky chap Jacob Rees-Mogg as much fun as he seems? @RachelParris investigates… ? #TheMashReport pic.twitter.com/RmcqKN3hC9
— BBC Two (@BBCTwo) February 16, 2018
Why it’s excellent? Whilst Jacob Rees-Mogg can come across as what’s basically a parody of a Wes Anderson character, often those caught up in Moggmentum don’t often look any further into his voting record. With her glorious, sunshine-filled delivery Parris reminds us that you can’t just like politicians because they’re meme-able, and runs through Mogg’s track record when it comes to women’s rights and LGBTQ rights.
And finally, when host Nish Kumar brought up the fact that nobody seems to know what Brexit actually is
What is Brexit? No, seriously, what the hell is it?! @MrNishKumar investigates… ??? #TheMashReport pic.twitter.com/UFw1Hxic4f
— BBC Two (@BBCTwo) February 23, 2018
Why it’s excellent? With Brexit just over a year away, Nish pointed out that politicians just seem to tell us what Brexit won’t be, and that across the board politicians seem to be telling us that Brexit will mean entirely different things.