Alan’s banter doesn’t disappoint at Warwick Arts Centre

AT a comedy gig, you pay you’re money and expect to be entertained by the person whose face fills the posters.

So when an unknown steps on stage to fill the first 25 minutes of the night, you understandably feel a little short-changed.

And, while admittedly, I hadn’t paid any money to see Alan Davies, I was still delighted to see the QI regular kick off the proceedings at Warwick Arts Centre.

He said the first half was the free stuff and, having done away with a set in order to pocket the extra cash, he could afford to be in a generous mood.

With tickets costing £25, it was probably the least the audience deserved, but as this policy was “to price out students” no one was complaining.

The pricing didn’t exclude people from Nuneaton and Bedworth, though, and these were the butt of the jokes for the opening half as Davies showed he had lost none of his ability to banter on stage after a long period away from touring.

Reminiscences from his time growing up in Loughton, included excellent impressions of both Australians (including a practical demonstration) and literally, honestly, seriously, Essex youths.

The second half covered his experiences of parenthood - plus some rude stuff which had the men in the audience suppressing laughs while giving their partners a ‘I have no idea what he’s talking about’ look.

The finish, when it came, was without fanfare and thankfully didn’t involve the whole encore charade.

He came back to milk the applause and then shooed us off home.

But abrupt as it was, at least he didn’t get someone else to come on stage and do it.

Paul Okey