Review: Alan Davies, Think Ahead

Alan Davies is undoubtedly one of the biggest comedy names at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe – and for good reason, says Alister Tenneb. 

Sometimes it’s great to go to a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe knowing you’re going to see someone who has the experience, skill and material that’s made them successful and for it to be, well, just less of a gamble.

Think Ahead is Alan Davies’ first show at the fringe for ten years and it’s excellent. Performing to a complete sell out every night in one of the festival’s biggest venues is a testament to his popularity. 

The show cleverly opens with audience interaction which continues throughout, but never strays into singling out individuals – it’s more the crowd as a whole. 

Davies knows his audience well and delivers the goods, not quips or a continuous stream of  jokes, more a well told and extremely amusing observational story of things past and present.  

At 59, he’s older than Warren Mitchell and Clive Dunn in their prime and this theme is present for much of the show. It achieves a high level of relatability to the largely similarly aged audience. It’s finely tuned and works well.

His material was a lot darker than I might have expected, delving into childhood abuse in an unflinchingly honest and visceral manner at times, but taking the audience along with him to laugh at the underlying tragedy. 

Never seeking pity, Davies manages to laugh in the face of the deep and personal historical issues of the past.

His performance is certainly darker and more risqué than his cheery, fall guy persona on QI and mild mannered Jonathan Creek – both getting nods in the show to an appreciative crowd.  

Davies appears very comfortable and seemingly laid back in his delivery and there are a lot of big belly laughs.

I was at one of the early shows and it was well polished. I’m sure that further fine tuning through the run will only improve an already tight show.

There are no gambles on the laughs at this show, I didn’t want it to end and like Alan Davies a lot more for seeing it. A must watch at the Fringe this year. 

Alan Davies – Think Ahead is on at the Gilded Balloon until 10 August.

Read more Fringe Reviews here.

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