Review: Dave Gorman’s PowerPoint Presentation finally fills U.S. in on who is Dave Gorman

You’re not mistaken for forgetting that you may have seen Dave Gorman in the United States before.

Gorman has brought two of his one-man shows here before, both off-Broadway and to the old HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen in 2001 and 2004. A couple of years later, he served a brief six-month period as a correspondent on The Daily Show — so brief his staff bio page is vacant.

But that only allows Gorman to reintroduce himself to American audiences, which is precisely what he’s attempting with a run of his show, Dave Gorman’s PowerPoint Presentation, at SubCulture NYC through the end of January. He already is a much bigger deal in his native U.K. — his show, Are You Dave Gorman? was a critical hit in Edinburgh in 2000, then became a BBC show and a book. And that show was based on all of the other people with his name in the world. So. Who is the real Dave Gorman? Turns out many people still have misperceptions of him. Which we can thank the misinformation superhighway of the Internet for, as it turns out.

You’ll learn a bit of fun facts in this hour-plus revue, which on his opening night Tuesday included one now-outdated fact.

Perhaps that’s because Gorman has shifted gears backward a bit to relate to the Americans — his PowerPoint Presentation initially launched at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe and toured the world in 2012, and he’s already hard at work prepping his new one-man show for the U.K. audience this spring, along with another season of his TV series. It might take more than a hot minute for a comedian or actor (unlike a band accustomed to playing its hits night after night on tour) to replace the new current monologue hour with the old one. Nevermind the jet lag.

Nevertheless, the use of rear-projection graphics adds a visual punch to his storytelling and allows him to remain affably mischievous throughout. It also makes him much more interactive, not only with the audience in the theater but also the much more unsuspecting one online through Twitter, Facebook and other social media. Which, it turns out, is all of us. I found his tackling of consumerism via advertising and marketing quite effective. We don’t know ourselves as much as we don’t know Gorman.

Also, Twitter can be fun for pranks, crowdsourcing a wager with your friend or loved one, or conceiving of a grossly spectacular social experiment, the likes of which Gorman already is well known for across the pond.

Over here? We’re still getting to know the real Dave Gorman. But he sure seems charming enough to start, and perhaps his show will make you want to learn more.

Dave Gorman’s Powerpoint Presentation will include 12 performances, from Jan. 20-31.  Shows will be performed Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30pm, with two shows on both Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm and 9pm.  Tickets for all shows are on sale now at www.subculturenewyork.com  (45 Bleecker St, NYC, 212.533.5470).  For more information, please visit www.davegorman.com

P.S. As he posted on his own blog last weekend: “I’ve done two runs in New York before now. On both occasions, I set out to do a six week run and on both occasions I ended up staying for twelve weeks. I don’t have much time to settle in on this occasion and extending the run isn’t an option either. I have to hit the ground running. It’s twelve shows and then home to start revving the engine on series three of Modern Life Is Goodish.”

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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