Alan Davies: Think Ahead – 'gifted' comedian's first stand-up show in a decade

Alan Davies has returned to stand-up for the first time in 10 years with a new show that "ventures into edgier, darker territory than those familiar with his affable screen persona will expect", said Dominic Cavendish in The Telegraph.

Having spoken for the first time, in his 2020 memoir "Just Ignore Him", about the childhood sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his late father, the "QI" panellist is now "finally, bravely broaching the subject" at the Edinburgh Fringe, before taking the show on tour.

"A barrel-load of laughs? At points: no." But Davies delves into a "sensitive, under-discussed issue" in a way that makes you admire his ongoing ability to see "the funny side of life" while coping with his "lasting trauma".

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Davies opens up on this painful subject "rawly" and with a "lightness of touch", said Brian Logan in The Guardian. At one point, he directly addresses his "laboured breathing", informing the audience that he still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder when recounting his early memories. It's a "compelling stage moment".

The show goes far beyond Davies' abuse, and the rest of the night delivers "one big-laughs set-piece after another", spanning everything from his "experience of delivering a poo sample for a cancer screening" to erectile dysfunction and fatherhood.

Davies has a "chortling ease" that you only find in the most "gifted" comics, said Dominic Maxwell in The Times. But the show feels like a "cake he hasn't quite finished baking"; the "gear change is still grinding" between the "jaded yet fond" stories of his present life and the distressing recollections of life with his father. "It's always enjoyable, sometimes brave, a great show in the making, but for now, understandably, a work in progress."

The material was certainly "darker" than expected and I'm sure the show will undergo "further fine-tuning", said Scottish Field. Still, it's an "excellent" return to stand-up and Davies delivers lots of "big belly laughs" throughout. "A must watch at the Fringe this year."

Until 10 August at the Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh, then touring from 19 September–21 November; ticketmaster.co.uk