Being a huge comedy fan, I am kind of ashamed to admit that I had never seen Danny Bhoy live until recently. Over the years, several friends had recommended him to me, but outside of seeing him appear on TV I had never seen any of his live shows in full.
I realise now, that has been a huge mistake on my behalf because what I saw with Bhoy’s new show, ‘Now Is Not A Good Time‘, I found it easily one of the funniest performances that I have seen so far at this year’s comedy festival.
The reason that I found Bhoy so funny is simple, it’s because his comedy is so relatable. Every tale from this new show takes place during the Covid lockdowns or in the aftermath. A time that saw him buying strange things, panic buying and now living a post-Brexit Scotland where he has experienced a real changing of the Guard with Prime Minsters and can no longer buy tomatoes freely in supermarkets.
Bhoy’s comedy style is laid back, almost to the point where it feels like you are sitting in a pub with a mate who is telling you all the funny stuff that has happened in his life. As well as laughing at what he was saying, I found myself doing a lot of nodding as I agreed with what he said as well.
The stage was kept to a bare minimum. There was a stool that was never used for anything else than to hold Bhoy’s water during the performance. Instead, Bhoy spent most of the show walking back and forward and addressing his audience directly as he asked questions about how we all faired during the Covid lockdowns which just added to the natural feel of the show.
In a way, Danny Bhoy’s humour was kind of cathartic. I’ve noticed over the past few months as I’ve interviewed several musicians and comedians, that the pandemic period was difficult for a lot of them to talk about. It was a time that saw their passion taken away from them and that still hurts today.
It was easy to see that the time deeply upset Bhoy as well, especially given that it meant that he couldn’t come to his beloved Australia for three years. The fact that he was able to show us that he can now laugh about that time seemed to also have a soothing effect on the audience, it was a smooth reminder that it is all in our past now.
It is rare to see a comedian put their emotions on the line the way Bhoy did but he even shed a tear when he told us all that he was being emotionally affected by the fact that he was once again performing in the Athenaeum Theatre, something that meant a lot to him as it was the first venue he performed in when he came to Australia during his debut tour 20 years ago.
Also rare is the way Bhoy mixes up his comedy styling throughout the show. He can drift from basic stand-up through to characterisation and skit in a heartbeat. I very quickly leant that his impersonations and accents are priceless and he also had the power to make me laugh until I cried.
While many people have told me over the years that Bhoy is a ‘nice and clean’ comedian that didn’t stop him from appealing to my dark humour side, as he made some witty jokes about topics like Queen Elizabeth’s sad passing and the state of politics in the UK. It was darker but still tasteful.
After having seen ‘Now Is Not A Good Time‘, all I can say is that I am so disappointed that I hadn’t discovered the humour of Danny Bhoy a lot earlier. He is one of the most natural comedians that I have ever seen, and this show is so relatable, you will begin to think that he was watching you throughout all the lockdowns.
Don’t be an idiot like me; if you have never seen Danny Bhoy live before, change that and see him tonight.
Danny Bhoy’s ‘Now Is Not A Good Time‘ is playing now as part of the 2023 Melbourne International Comedy Festival until April 23rd.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2023/shows/danny-bhoy-now-is-not-a-good-time
https://www.dannybhoy.com