Where The Wild Things Aren't

From Live At The Apollo

More Danny Bhoy videos

Born in the Scottish spa town of Moffat, Danny Bhoy began stand-up in 1998, soon after completing a history degree. He said he caught the comedy bug after walking past an Edinburgh pub and hearing a commotion inside. He discovered it was an open-mic comedy night in progress, and from then he was hooked.

Within his first year, he won The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award, and in 2000 performed as part of The Comedy Zone showcase of up-and-coming stand-up talent at the Edinburgh Fringe. The following year, he performed his first solo show at the festival, and has returned every year since, except 2007.

He has also become a regular at several international festivals. He made his debut at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2003 and in 2005, he was invited to both Montreal's Just For Laughs Comedy Festival and the inaugural Las Vegas Comedy Festival. He returned to the Montreal festival in 2007, where he was given the rare chance to perform a ten-night solo run, and that year he also embarked on his first major tour of Australia, with 94 dates. He now spends half the year in Australia.

Danny Bhoy: By Royal Disappointment
Live Review

He may be playing the biggest venue in the Fringe, but there’s absolutely no sense of occasion to Danny Bhoy’s show. He saunters on, casually as you like, and just starts talking quietly and calmly about the weather.

That his comedy appears so much like a relaxed chat is, of course, both its strength and weakness. It’s unforced and natural, yet lacking any real ‘oomph’, since real conversations don’t have oomph either. If he’s put any effort into the performance it’s all gone in to making look like it’s not a performance.

So much, therefore, depends on what he has to say. Sometimes this amounts to not much – for example, the Australians’ tendency to name things very literally – and other times he states the obvious, but gets it so spot on, it works.

In these sections, you can spot people in the audience nudging each other, happy to be told what they surely already knew about themselves. Like the Canadian contingent who hollered loudly when their home nation was mentioned tonight, all some people want is acknowledgement of their existence.

Happy to milk the Scottish stereotype, Bhoy gets most out of his sections on drinking: on the scramble for last orders, on over-enunciating to appear sober or on how wine is selected in the offy. Not all of these contain punchlines, but when they do – as in his offhand dismissal of weak sangria – they can be brilliant.

Bhoy sells most of the material on his considerable charm. A running gag about Vikings doesn’t really amount to much, though he gives it commitment. But we love him most when he reveals his weaknesses, relatively small though they be. His humble recounting of foot-in-mouth moments when he met comedy royalty (Matt Damon) or the real deal (The Queen) are made funnier by his milking the embarrassment of what might be considered relatively minor faux pas.

The apparent effortless with which he tells these stories is engaging, but the content is solid rather than spectacular.

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Hilarious. Deserves mega-stardom

della, June 2011

Ditto, I thought he was a little put out by the small crowd at the Palace Theatre. I agree with the review as well, not spectacularly split-my-sides funny, but engagingly funny.

Danny, September 2010

I saw him last night, and he was great, although he seemed a little shocked that the balconies were empty!

connor, September 2010

Smug, derivative, slick and funny only to untrained ears.

Mandy Allan, January 2010

Have seen Danny twice now and he did new material at the 2nd gig. Got his DVD at Sydney Opera House and will buy his newest one asap. His YouTube page is great too. Bravo!

Julie, July 2009

Saw danny last night in a tiny place in Tunbridge Wells. This obviously unnerved Danny because he kept pausing and pointing out that we weren't getting him and how big he is in Australia. Just because it was a small audience didn't mean we weren't having fun and laughing at him, it just wasn't the huge crowd he's used to. If he had just got past this and realised we were having fun and not patronising him with our quiet clapping it would of been flawless. Chill out with the small crowds, we all love you.

julie, October 2008

went to see DB last night. Normally I am a massive fan but unfortunately yesterday was a wash out. He began his act by asking two audience members to leave which was not received well by the audience. He wasted 10 minutes trying to eject them, a waste of time, not even funny and also extremely obnoxious. He seems to have become a lot more arrogant since last seeing him - yet his run of the mill observational commentary does not justify his attitude. He stumbled through the rest of the performance without really engaging the audience. There was no new material, unfortunately for me... sub-par and not recommended.

Sam, September 2008

Just came back from Leeds City Varieties where, despite there shockingly only being maybe 150 people there (and him apparently being under the weather) he gave a fantastic 90 minute+ show. Definitely one to see again.

Chris, September 2008

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