Darius Davies' HBÖ Special Uncensored

• Brian Donaldson
• 27 August 2014

This article is from 2014.

Confident performance fails to mask thin material at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

This is one of those gigs when almost everything that could go wrong on the night for a comic actually does. Even with just six in his crowd, including 90s Edinburgh comedy club legend Reg Anderson, Darius Davies feels he is up to the challenge. Immediately outing his reviewer, he attempts various tactics to make me laugh, such as getting the guy to my right to tickle me. It’s certainly not going to be achieved with his relatively mundane routines about internet porn or budget airlines, though his relentless appraisal of a household accessory does ultimately yield a lovely pay-off.

When he gets fully into his segments (and Davies has the whiff of the preacher about him), his mic cable falls off a couple of times; even though the room is small and we are few, he insists on being amplified, and the delay breaks up any rhythm he has managed to whip up.

His show-title is the overly optimistic HBÖ Special Uncensored (presumably the umlaut was a legal requirement) and while he comes on stage like a prizefighter (the subscription channel was initially renowned for its boxing output), his successful finale alludes to the end scene in The Sopranos. Davies has got the stage confidence nailed, he just needs to work on some stronger, less obvious material. And next time, Darius, you need to go for the feet.

Cowgatehead, run finished.