Hairline‘s Emily Carson certainly had some lovely things to say about David O’Dohertys’ new show. Read on.

Somewhere over the David O’Doherty

*****

David O’Doherty is one of the most endearing comedians on the stage this festival. A self-described mix between a youth club supervisor and A.L.F., O’Doherty brings an original flair to his act, using an old 80’s keyboard to perform songs that, while hardly showcasing an award winning voice, are innovative and clever.
O’Doherty is a very relatable character and his show features heavily on this aspect of his personality. He regales the audience with tales of his job as a floor cleaner in a German sausage factory and his four years spent in bike maintenance, at one point doing a song based solely on asking the audience for their bike-related problems.

A veteran of the Fringe circuit, O’Doherty understands all too well the nature of comedy acts and has made adequate preparations for potential lulls in the hour. Producing a notebook filled with fake panda facts, he changes tack for a couple of minutes producing many unexpected belly-laughs from the audience before reverting back to his original monologue.
This show provides something different from the usual stand-up formula. O’Doherty’s prowess in observational as well as unconventional comedy makes his performance a proper laugh-a-minute extravaganza. You will not feel hard-done by parting with £10 for this performance, O’Doherty makes sure of it, and the audience can visit his bike maintenance shop free of charge as an added bonus.

‘Somewhere over the David O’Doherty’ will be showing at the courtyard pleasance at 10.20 for the duration of the Fringe. You can buy tickets here.

Bernard O’Leary of ‘The Skinny‘ reviewed David’s fantastic new show. Here is what he had to say.

David O’Doherty has come equipped with fascinating animal facts, mainly taken from his book 100 Facts About Pandas. He points out that he’s not a qualified zoologist, something which seems obvious to the huge crowd at the Pleasance, but was not so apparent to several book reviewers.

O’Doherty is now a Fringe legend and the festival is not complete without catching one of his gigs. There’s no ego on display, however. His opening lightshow consists of him holding a torch, his keyboard is still his battered 1986 Yamaha and the man himself remains a loveable emo dork.

The routine is what everyone has come to expect: free-wheeling whimsy, trivial nonsense, improvised songs and the reading of more fake panda trivia. The heartbreaking story of the running of the pandas at Pamplona brings a tear to the eye.

O’Doherty frequently compares himself to people with real jobs and describes his job as useless, but the satisfied crowd would probably disagree. The world needs more of what he has to offer.

David O’Doherty is performing his show ‘Somewhere Over The David O’Doherty’ at 10.20 in Pleasance One for the duration of the festival. You can buy tickets here.