OK UK. British comedy's worst kept secret is out. The man with the mop (of hair that is), comedian Alan Davies, has returned to his stand-up roots. After almost twelve years away from the stand-up spotlight, and with a critically acclaimed sell-out practice run through the Antipodes behind him, Alan Davies is taking his "
Life is Pain" tour on the road around the UK from August to December.
Davies is a busy man with a finger in many comedic pies. These days Britain's favourite pescetarian (I bet you have to look that up - I know I did) is probably better known to audiences for his regular spot as panellist and foil to host Stephen Fry on the panel show QI, or for his starring role in the quirky TV mystery series Jonathan Creek, than for his witty and whimsical stand-up shows. In 2009 Davies released an autobiography, his first book, "
My Favourite People and Me 1978 - 88" , in which he chronicles things and people he liked during his youth, including Starsky and Hutch and rather surprisingly, but he insists only briefly, Margaret Thatcher. In a BBC documentary he also helped to unravel the answer to the usually rhetorical question "
How Long is Piece of String?". A huge Arsenal fan, Davies also hosts The Arsenal Podcast "
The Tuesday Club".
But Davies' heart belongs to stand-up comedy, so 2011 saw him retrace his comedy steps back to where it all began - on the road and in front of the microphone bringing his own unique take on the vagaries and vanities of life and the universe to appreciative fans. Davies spent late last year flitting around Australia with "
Life is Pain" and with the first ever live theatrical production of the hit TV show, QI.
Davies' style is more like a friendly pat on the back than the slap to the face delivered by many other comedians, and his "everyman" persona resonates with people everywhere. Let's hope he has plenty of stamina because the "
Life is Pain" UK tour will be tickling funny bones at more than forty separate venues around the UK. It will premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 9 to 14 August, and Davies will then meander through the UK with stops including Manchester, Oxford, Bournemouth, Belfast, Aberdeen and Dorking and wind to a hilarious halt in Brighton on 16 December 2012.
I have three words of advice. Don't miss it. Davies will show you just how painful, perplexing, peculiar and laugh-out-loud funny life really is.
The full program of UK tour dates and venues with links to ticketing information
can be found here. Tickets (ranging in price from £18 to £25 depending on venue) are also available
through Ticketmaster here. But hurry, tickets are already selling fast.
