Danny Bhoy has certainly been around the comedy block. From his native Scotland, he’s spent a good ten years on the circuit and has an impressive backlog of tour dates and destinations – from Bermuda to Mumbai, Whyalla to Hamilton. Months and months on the road, hotel after hotel and it makes for very funny stories.

With a gruelling three-month regional tour of Australia just behind him, Bhoy is remarkably fresh and energetic. It’s his third time in New Zealand and he’s got a good handle on the Kiwi idiosyncrasies and our Australian counterparts’ peculiarities.  He takes the complete piss out of the Kiwi accent. It is done with affection, accuracy and always making the Aussies just a little thicker – read ‘thuckah’. I imagine he was doing the very opposite over the ditch.  

In the world of international stand up, Danny Bhoy is somewhat a sex symbol. I say somewhat here because we have to look at the competition: classic comic beauties such as Rowan Atkinson, Matt Lucas and Te Radar. I think the attraction is an entanglement of the image of the lonely comedian in yet another hotel room, coupled with a ton of boyish charm and a gorgeous Scottish accent.

This said, the other main through-line in this performance is Danny Bhoy’s struggle with chatting women up. Really? How come? I’m wondering if he is honing this lonely persona. He creates an image of a bumbling fool, unlucky in love, who makes a poor impression – saying the wrong things and having unfortunate wardrobe malfunctions. There’s a huge appeal in this to both genders – men commiserating with the hardship of engaging socially with women and women thinking ‘if only I was given the glad-eye by Danny Bhoy.’

Danny Bhoy’s experience is evident. He plays the audience with a balance of collusion, engagement and a firm hand on hecklers. This is a well-lubricated Friday night crowd and there is a Hurricane’s semi-final for competition. His stories are both seamless and tangential but also ways leading us back to the beginning. It’s an hour and half of constant laughs from a lovely man.
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There is no denying the appeal of Scottish comedian – and regular tourist to these shores – Danny Bhoy. He has the audience captured and captivated as he walks on stage. It used to be that Bhoy’s shaggy-dog tales were a highlight, a fresh spin on the way Billy Connolly took a conversation out for a stroll.

But with this show Bhoy seems to be playing it straighter; simpler. When he leaves a story to disappear off on a tangent he never really makes it back, the basic greeting with three people in the front row is pretty much left there, whereas, on previous visits he would have run with that, weaving parts of their character in to his stories.

He does have a bit of uneasy fun when one audience member reveals that he watches Danny every day, presumably meaning he owns the DVD. Bhoy revels in turning this in to a stalker character and milks it for a few good laughs. But it’s generally just business; obvious set-ups, observations from travelling and the same stories with new locations.

He opens with a yarn about being naked in a hotel in Hastings only for the maid to walk in with the towels. Previous tours had this happen in several different countries in Europe; well I guess he’s putting himself out there, so to speak. Suffering for his art.

About 60% of the material that Bhoy offers has been played out in some form before but he’s likeable and engaging so it gets a pass. And he is such a huge hit with his audience that you could never knock him for taking the safe route.

The stories feel like they have come from Mr. Bean episodes though, so it feels like Danny Bhoy is on a slippery slope… still, he does get the odd quip in, when asked what he would do if he ever stopped being funny, Bhoy suggested "make television in New Zealand". That’s hard to argue with. 
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There were some big laughs at Danny Bhoy’s Civic debut on Thursday. But the biggest wasn’t actually spurred by the comic himself. Rather it was a loudmouth punter who got the crowd roaring when he called out his favourite pick-up line: "How about a punch in the undies?"

Yes, it was base humour. But his timing was impeccable, and it took Danny a good few minutes to get the crowd under control again. To his credit, he milked the situation for all it was worth … [More]
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The fact that only a handful of single tickets remain for Danny Bhoy’s three-night season at the Auckland’s Mighty Civic is testament to how popular and in demand this fine Scottish comedian has become since he got hooked on stand up ten years ago via an open mic night at an Edinburgh Pub.

It seems like only yesterday I saw him perform at Auckland’s intimate Classic Comedy & Bar in 2004, before his deserved rapid-rise to the top of the International Comedy Circuit. Look at him now: rock star intro, 8 moving lights plus plenty of haze on stage (more than your average band), a gigantic projection screaming "DANNY BHOY" across the back wall, and a thumping track from Steve Earle: Galway Girl (not a random choice – Bhoy has an ear and an eye for detail).

Though the presentation is more slick and hyped than his previous NZ shows, the heart of Bhoy’s show remains the same. With completely new content (save a more drawn out version of his televised 2009 NZ Comedy Gala gecko experience), this show is an hilarious rambling insight into Bhoy’s travels and life journeys since he was last here.

He shares with us his mix of odd personal experiences, world-views, caustic commentary and the uniqueness of being a comedian on the road for what must seem like a lifetime, as though we were a bunch of mates sitting in a bar telling stories.

Bhoy banters with the audience throughout the night, including all the evening’s lively hecklers. From the mild telling off he received from a retentive timekeeper after a late start to the show to the unscheduled lighting change, Bhoy uses it all to provide a seemingly effortless, inclusive, shared experience.

Bhoy is still so easy to watch and enjoy, even though during Thursday’s show he occasionally completely loses his way within his own stories. While the fatigue of relentless touring may be getting to him, it’s a mark of how professional and talented Bhoy is that he shares it with us as genuine anecdotes, humorous reflection and amusing original insight.

Auckland, unless you get one of those single seats, you’ve missed out this time. The rest of NZ [Christchurch and Wellington] – book now. Bhoy’s charm and appeal is still as good as it gets on the International comedy circuit: he’s smart, occasionally droll, a bit naughty and always enormously entertaining.
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