For anyone else that was surprised to find out that Alan Davies is actually funny when he went from playing the super genius detective, Jonathan Creek, to a perpetually losing comedy powerhouse on Stephen Fry’s QI, you’ve probably missed the fact that he’s been a stand-up comic since 1988. He’s spent the last couple of years touring Britain and the Antipodes (ace word!) with his Life of Pain stand-up show, in and amongst recording QI and Jonathan Creek specials, and now he’s getting set for his next big tour with a work in progress stint at the Pleasance Theatre.
Starting on the 26th April 2013 and running through until the 19th May, the work in progress show is a good opportunity to see what Alan’s got up his baggy sleeves for his next big tour. Tickets are available from https://www.pleasance.co.uk/islington/events/alan-davies-work-in-progress–2 and with prices as little as £5 and £6, it’s also one of the cheapest comedy shows in town, so you’ll probably need to move fast to get a ticket before they all sell out. The shows open at 8pm for anyone planning on going, and we’d bet Alan will be propping up the bar afterwards if you’re desperate to test him to see if his real life mystery solving skills are anything like his TV alter ego.
Alan Davies’ comedy style is a combination of surrealism, improv, observational comedy and general whimsy. However, if you’ve seen any of QI then you’ll know that his jokes will be rounded off with a massive amount of silliness and a good helping of arm flailing physical humour.
Whatever new material he’s planning for the next tour is probably as much of a mystery to him as it is to us, you Stephen Fry, Jonathan Creek and Caroline Quinton. Each night will more than likely be pretty different from the last, but with his improvisational efforts they’re bound to be full of hilarity.
For anyone that needs a blast from the past fix of Jonathan Creek, the Easter Special, The Clue of the Savant’s Thumb, should still be doing the rounds on BBC iPlayer. He’s also part way through the tenth series of QI, series J, with series K waiting in the wings, so the next year or so is going to be pretty hectic for him.
There’s no announcement at the moment for his next full stand-up tour, but with the Work In Progress shows at the Pleasance finishing in mid May it’s possible that it will be in time for the Edinburgh Festival in August at the latest.
