It is not unheard of for a well established comic to return to the Fringe, hoping to soft-launch reliving the halcyon days of their early careers. Tickets will sell, audiences will arrive, it’s not a risk. This is not that. Alan Davies is here with material that’s new, that works, that’s not the same as his younger people-pleaser shows, and is genuinely authentic.
Davies is the pin-sharp silly character he portrays on ‘QI’, the thinking clown in familial surroundings, having just as much enjoyment poking fun at himself as he does at his children. Somehow he’s pinned down an elixir of energy that feels like a buzz in the room, alert and responsive – almost nervous. A lot has happened in the ten years since Alan Davies was last at the Edinburgh Fringe, his family has grown, he did a writing course, and he wrote a book.
It’s the revelation he made in the book that he had his father arrested for historical sexual abuse that stops the show. He says it out loud, breath shaking slightly in what Davies explains is PTSD. It’s a difficult move, to change the tone, to suck the air out of the laughter – but this is too important not to.
The revelation nestles within a cushion of good material, Davies breaking the tension in increments. There are a few familiar and welcome nods to his stint on ‘QI’, a brilliant section about adopting an “old white bastard” role as he plays with a gammon-style rage, and some fabulous swings into his family dynamic with a snake meet-up and blue pill slapstick actions played out with a visible release nearer the end of the show.
Davies has spent over half of his life performing on stage and it feels an appropriate place to share what happened to him. He offers statistics and a website address, putting the kibosh on shame and instead offering support. Something special happens in that room, and I feel privileged to be a part of it.
Alan Davies: Think Ahead, Orchard at Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 19.15, 4-10 August
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/alan-davies-think-ahead
