by *** 1/2 (out of 5)
Nominated for Most Outstanding Show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Laura Davis returns to Edinburgh claiming she had performed this hour down under in full character. She’s keeping the hat and the outfit intact at Fringe, but says she wants to tell this story more as herself.
Davis may have a similar vocal timbre, neurodivergence and perhaps even the whatever-sexual-gender vibe Hannah Gadsby is going for, but Davis is not about to deliver a manifesto just yet. Sure, the world is shit. So everything must go, right? Davis suggests starting with zoos and Santa.
Though she claims she’s not a good comedian and only filling rooms since the pandemic, she doesn’t care about my review as much as what her friend Paul would think. He died a year and half ago, and his opinion of her mattered most. So this show is for him. If she can convince any of you to follow her as a demagogue, so much the better.
Laura Davis: Well Don’t Just Stand There Dancing runs through Aug. 27 at Monkey Barrel 2
