It’s become tradition for a water bottle, of all things, to signal the imminent arrival of David O’Doherty, a 600ml vessel skidding across the stage before a blackout. Its this sense of play that has defined O’Doherty’s festival appearances for years and, indeed, defines this brand new show, David O’Doherty Will Try To Fix Everything.
O’Doherty returns as the festival’s most friendly cynic, dissecting daily irritations with casual whimsy. His new show loosely revolves around the pursuit of happiness, the affable Irish comic resolving to “beat the blues”. Its a core concept that’s so universal, it really ought to be boring – yet O’Doherty, an irrefutably charming figure, makes things engaging.To attend his show is to strap in for a rapid-fire exchange of ideas, a blend of absurd, imaginative imagery and cutesy keyboard tunes. With more than a few fantastical tangents, it’s the kind of show that threatens to spin out of control at any moment, but O’Doherty – at this stage of his career, a comedy veteran – demonstrates enough discipline to make it all work. If it’s any indication of things, notes for this show leapt from ‘shelving Toblerones’ to ‘negative mice’. It’s a fun, silly hour that’s surprisingly easy to follow, given the creative overdrive in effect.
While O’Doherty’s stand-up is strong, its his songs that reign supreme. He examines love’s tendency to baffle even history’s most famous figures, before conducting an effective lecture on spotting “scoundrels” and “scoundrel talk”. O’Doherty also indulges in a little satire, exploring the the convenience of casting Lance “Lancey-Pants” Armstrong as a scapegoat for even the most obscure of problems. Late in the show, O’Doherty lays a songified smackdown on the advertising world, the insightful interlude a true highlight.
Noting, again, O’Doherty’s penchant for play and exploration, his songs serve an important purpose: they allow him to deliver ideas with added focus, structure and economy. O’Doherty ultimately lays claim to more versatility than most stand-up comedians, but it’s not a down to his keyboard alone: it’s about how well it’s utilised within his act, subbed in to make ordinary comic asides all the more punchy.
Securing a ticket to O’Doherty’s show is to allow yourself to grin like an idiot for about an hour. It’s more than a feel-good affair, which is the obvious requisite for successful comedy: it’s uplifting, too. Ultimately, O’Doherty again proves his form as a festival favourite with another impressive, hilarious show.
BY NICK MASON
