Alan Davies: Life is Pain

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"Hello delegates," quips Alan Davies as he walks to he front of the EICC's stage. He continues in the same vein, hoping we've been sent to this slightly formal venue by our respective regions as their best laughers and not comedy connoisseurs. Clearly, after 11 years away, he is keen to please and anxious to travel a path of least resistance. He needn't have worried too much.

Despite an undulating start, the QI and Jonathan Creek star finds his stride, albeit only ever showing flashes of his capabilities. The routines that show he still knows how to get the metaphorical car started are inevitably the ones he's most emotionally invested in, and there are some poignant pieces here will hopefully develop on tour (especially as the running time will inevitably expand to 90 minutes).

Examples include his grandfather taking him to Trafalgar Square to have the pigeons feed off seeds he pours on his grandson's arm. Likewise, his dad dressing him up in uniform to go to a school where no uniform was required is a deft sequence, and one which features an endearing Lord of the Flies analogy. In a recent interview Davies commented he was enjoying not being famous. Standup is the best way to set your own level of fame but to still be visible, an outsider looking in. Already Davies is looking relaxed with re-immersing himself in the art form, something that augers well for a more sustained comeback rather than this, a mere toe-dipping exercise.