FRINGE REVIEW – David O’Doherty is Looking Up
David O’Doherty’s endearing Irish charm and quick wit make for a very entertaining hour of standup, interspersed with song. He begins by inviting the audience to be voyeurs at his private party for one and they gladly accept.
In his own words, he is a veteran of many Recessii and here, he offers some tips for personal and countrywide survival in the current one.
He is a man with many complaints about life including being regularly mistaken for Chris O’Dowd from the IT Crowd. It is not hard to imagine why, he has a similar accent, looks a lot like him, from a distance at least and is also a comedian, although to his mind the only similarity is that they share part of their name; ‘O’D.’
Moonlighting as a naturalist and author, O’Doherty also previews his latest literary work, “100 Facts about Sharks”. His previous book, “100 Facts about Pandas,” allegedly made it into the natural history section of a well known bookstore, in spite of not being entirely based on real facts about pandas.
The only thing missing in his expanding repertoire is interpretive dance, which would certainly be worth the 5th star alone!
There is an and innocent silliness to David O’Doherty’s unique style of comedy. His stories usually reflect things that could easily happen to anyone and are effortless in the telling. He attracts a cult following, but his material is accessible by all. He easily sells out one of the larger venues of the Fringe and it is likely that his popularity will continue. He remarked that since he was in the same venue as last year that his career had either plateaued or he was on a pedestal. I think the audience would agree that for now at least, ‘pedestal’ is appropriate.
EdCom Productions 