Review by Steve Bennett

Strolling casually out with hands in pockets, in front of hundreds of star-like lights and before even more people, Danny Bhoy truly does make stand-up look easy. Another summer, another Edinburgh for this regular sell-out performer, and so he effortlessly delivers another hour of entirely solid and reliable comedy.

These two features of Bhoy are mutually dependable: his show will always sell out because it is reliable, and he has to be reliable to consistently please a sold-out room, and this 2004 show is no exception to the rule. This is an hour of amusing observational comedy and witty audience banter that superficially appears to be randomly organised, before slowly developing into a narrative and cleverly-written denouement.

Bhoy does have an enormous range of material, seamlessly skipping from story to story at mid-points, making it appear that he delves in and out of anecdotes as they occur, reinforcing his image as the most natural of comics. Of course, it is clear by the end that everything has been meticulously planned, simply proving his talent as a performer and the professionalism of the show.

Mostly, the material is bland but effective, a juxtaposition of highly contemporary references (mobile phone signal on different networks) and common nostalgia (the method with which everyone would get the attention of their parents); basically anything that instigates a collectivity between his audience.

His timing is impeccable ­ always picking the finest moment and, even, the finest tone of voice for each punchline ­ and each joke is structured effectively, repeatedly emphasising each gag in order to sustain a constant stream of laughter. Bhoy is also the master of establishing reference points, allowing him to repeatedly allude to material discussed earlier, each time garnering a bigger and bigger laugh.

Bhoy is instantly likeable, more in a nice and charming, rather than fascinating and mysterious fashion, and undoubtedly talented at producing comedy at this most professional of levels. Yet the inescapable feeling is that this show is stand-up for those who do not really like stand-up.

Review date: 1 Jan 2004
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett