Jim Davidson: No Further Action

Here are some of the things Jim Davidson said in his show that a reviewer like me would claim in my write-up. That he was racist (he did do comedy accents). That he was sexist (he was a little, but not in the bits he thought he was). That I would omit that he got a standing ovation at the end (he got a standing ovation at the end). That he has no place at the Fringe, which is a "hotbed of Lefty Marxists" (he does). It's odd to witness a comedian so sensitive to how he is (mis?)understood, concerned he is an "old-fashioned has-been".

Yet his act's themes are disconcertingly similar to those in much standup. He examines his relationship with his uncommunicative father and discusses his exes, tropes so common in male standup as to be clichés. But Davidson has a trump card – he can also recount his experiences of being detained as part of Operation Yewtree. He asks, "Do you want to hear this? It's not the best comedy routine", and the gig becomes more confessional as he struggles to make sense of the politics involved.

There's decades' worth of gigging experience on show here, and routines about drink are delivered with real skill. He's an excellent physical comedian, who whips the crowd into guffaws with efficiency. He rails against political correctness towards the end, without making clear the specifics of his definition of it. And then he invites everyone to join him in the bar, not least so we can buy his book.