Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

A resolutely low-key presence on the Fringe scene, David McIver feels like a quintessential comedian’s comedian. He’s neither really upbeat nor morose, confident nor quavering, and will never be flashy enough to make it on the panel shows, but the man can write a joke like few others, and the opening stretch of this show contains a wealth of perfect Glenn Moore-style pearls.

Fittingly, if accidentally, this section is performed without a proper spotlight. In the gloom of the Banshee Labyrinths, McIver’s face is almost entirely invisible.

Introducing the technical element, McIver turns on the projector and shows a video of himself performing his ‘world-famous ​headless horseman joke’ at the 2013 Chortle Student Comedy Awards, where he would come runner-up to Sarah Keyworth. This joke, which doesn’t quite scan, is then analysed with a line-by-line breakdown, coming back at multiple points and in multiple surprising forms throughout the show as a self-flagellating runner.

The meat of the experience here is an extended PowerPoint presentation on ‘wellness,’ packed with an endless supply of delightful comic details. McIver’s brilliant with the background stuff, like a glimpse of his calendar full of bizarre appointments. But the foreground gags are very funny too, especially where his rudimentary image-manipulation skills are brought to bear, like in the complimentary bits about retraining attack dogs as therapy animals and vice versa.

Like Moore, it’s hard to believe him when he’s trying to get serious near the end, but you could see why he would feel burned out after years putting out quality content to inadequate recognition. I hope it doesn’t force him out of the industry, because this is a special joke writer with a lot to offer.

Review date: 15 Aug 2023
Reviewed by: Tim Harding
Reviewed at: PBH's Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth