David Ian is on a mission. He must find out the answer to something the audience can help with, is he mean?
At the beginning, David picks out audience members to read some quotes written by his friends out of a bucket. The quotes are the harshest comments David has made about his friends, and from the start, it’s not looking good for David.
Two things are clear from the minute you walk into the room and look up at the big bubbly pink picture on the wall. David is gay, and David really, really, really loves Cher. Actually, it’s better to say David is unhealthily obsessed with Cher, so much so that she has become the executor of his will (a pleasant surprise for her, I’m sure, when the time comes). David has also published a book called 99 Ways Cher Could Kill David Ian.
The book isn’t the only merchandise David plugs in his show; he also takes the opportunity to advertise his insulting calendar, which has one insult a month for anyone curious.
David Ian flickers between comedy and drama as he explains his crisis, when a “naked friend” informs him that his personality could mean that the one child he has ever liked and loved, his nephew Harry, could grow up believing that he is mean. Taken aback by this, David reassesses his life and tries to change, but finds the path towards change a spiral that causes a massive crash out.
It takes a turbulent trip to New York and Montreal for David to realise the answer to his question, “Am I Mean?”.
David is completely open in his show; he is funny yet emotional as he tackles his personality to become a better person for his nephew and himself.
David Ian: Am I Mean? 16.20, Gilded Balloon Patter House, until August 24
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/david-ian-am-i-mean
