Review of the musical comedian's first tour

Huge Davies’s third solo show – and the first to tour – is not an easy ride for the audience, given he treats us with absolute contempt. Our responses and our energy are never good enough for him, and he responds like a moody teenager, making scant effort to disguise the fact that dealing with our shit is the last thing he needs.

Without ever letting his mask slip, even for a moment, to suggest this all might be a joke, Davies is the very opposite of a comic seeking the love of the audience. It is us who must earn his… well, tolerance is probably the best we can expect from this grouch.

Slights are manufactured from the beginning. He strolls on stage to a high-spirited track played on the keyboard he strings around his neck, only to stop it immediately as we’re not getting in on the vibe. He engineers further failures by making demands on his tech that they both have to muddle their way through. 

He professes to hate stand-up as a fundamentally embarrassing pursuit, and the obvious pretence is that this show is his first ‘serious’ offering, a deeply personal hour that, as the title suggests, honours his heritage. ‘It’s by Asians, for Asians,’ he insists, not that everyone’s got the memo – himself included. The deep dive into Asian culture gets as far as Pokemon and an anime theme song which only goes to prove how deeply ingrained he is in British and American pop culture. 

His shtick is to maintain a poker face while presenting apparently earnest songs that are ultimately frivolous –  sardonically mocking plot and premise flaws in the TV shows and films of our shared past. The attitude and the unshowy music give a distinctive twist – not to mention delayed-gratification timing – to observations that mighn’t stand out in straightforward stand-up. 

With derision his default mode, whether it’s discussing the hubris before war or someone not clapping enough in the room, Davies’ crabby interactions won’t be for everyone. The mood he creates is perhaps too prickly to fully enjoy the wry lines and heavily-disguised silliness, but they are there if you look for them – and he’s certainly creating something out of the ordinary.

• Huge Davies: Album For My Ancestors (Dead) continues in Brighton on February 28. Tour dates.

Review date: 17 Feb 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett