Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Huge Davies: Album For My Ancestors (Dead)
Huge Davies
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Huge Davies: Album For My Ancestors (Dead) is a solo musical comedy show featuring a variety of songs that Davies describes as being about his own life.
Review
Huge Davies presented an extremely unique hour of comedy with a series of songs toying with audience expectations of his own life and culture. He often attempted (and succeeded) to trick the audience by playing with stereotypes of Asian culture and cultural expectations. This central theme doesn’t, however, reveal itself right away. Davies creates a slow burn effect, essentially leaving the audience with agency regarding the truth of the stories.
Album For My Ancestors (Dead) showcases a special bond between a man and his piano. In a crowded field of musical comedy, Davies’ instrument wearing appearance presents something different from the open-mic style often presented. The mobile piano gives him the freedom to use the space as a conventional stand-up comedian would, allowing for simultaneous crowd work and songs. Don’t expect friendly interactions, though. Davies brings an aggressive energy to his audience interactions which some could find alarming, but the vast majority found hilarious.
The show has a little bit for everyone. There are some explicit moments, plenty of pop culture references, and a heap of jokes making fun of everyday life. The broad range of topics increases the show’s appeal and leaves every audience member hurting from laughter. It was extremely interesting to watch various sections of the audience curl over with laughter at different times. There were of course still plenty of moments of collective enjoyment, but his pointed comedy made each audience member feel at least a tiny bit special.
Davies shows mastery of the comedic art of the call back. From tech ‘issues’ to grandparents, Album For My Ancestors is full of them. It’s not just the use of call backs that highlights Davies’ skills, but his apparent apathy for them. Although not perfect, he kept a fairly straight face throughout most of the show, allowing comedic staples to feel like inside jokes. This close relationship between the audience and performer is further assisted by the Pleasance Courtyard venue. The intimate upstairs space makes the show feel almost like an informal gathering of friends.
An Album For My Ancestors is unique for sure, but when you really widdle it down it’s just a great example of Fringe comedy. Davies brought energy, charisma, and of course, jokes to an engaging hour of witty and uproarious music.
