After 40 years and counting in show business Bobby Davro is doing his first ever full run at the Fringe this year. To be fair, he probably never had time before. He’s been too busy on the telly for most of the last four decades.
But after doing a couple of gigs in Edinburgh last year he’s committed to the whole month this August.
What to expect? The title gives you a clue. Davro’s position is that he can joke about whatever he likes. In practice that amounts to gags about sex and a bit of swearing. At points in the show he has a go at “woke” and “snowflakes”, but it seems less like a firm political position than as an excuse to tell rather old-fashioned jokes and risk a bit of blue.
What a curious show this is. Davro bounds on to The Proclaimers’ 500 Miles which gives the audience an excuse to chant “Bobby Davro” at the appropriate point and there follows an hour of late-night jokes and musical interludes, which, frankly, goes over gangbusters on a Saturday evening in Edinburgh.
And, yes, some of the lines are good ones. And some are terrible, but knowingly so. And, unsurprisingly, Davro sells them all well.
But in truth, this is never more than mildly risque. The only jokes that slightly bothered my sensitive PC outlook were riffs on Gareth Gates’s stammer.
And who else is making jokes about Gareth Gates in 2024? Davro’s targets were all over the place, from Trump and Biden to Stephen Hawking, Frank Sinatra and Elvis.
There’s also a lot of music. Some of it sourced for humour, but, more and more as the night goes on, played straight. Halfway through Davro has a committed go at Billy Joel’s Piano Man and by the end of the night he’s leading singalongs to Elton John and Neil Diamond. Maybe he’s always just wanted to be a song and dance man. He’s got the voice for it.
Davro suffered a minor stroke in January. It’s great to see him in such good form half a year on. But I kind of wish he had talked about the experience a little more onstage. Because everything is funny, if you can laugh at it. Next time, maybe?
Bobby Davro: Everything is Funny … If You Can Laugh at It, Frankenstein Pub – Bier Keller, 9pm, until August 25 (except August 12 & 13, 19 & 20)
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/bobby-davro-everything-is-funny-if-you-can-laugh-at-it
Teddy Jamieson
