Danny Bhoy Articles/Reviews

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http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...544678060.html

Cheeky Bhoys
Reviewer Andrew Murfett
April 5, 2004

Danny Bhoy's distinctive good-looks help his routine.

COMEDY FESTIVAL
DANNY BHOY, Hi-Fi Bar, Swanston Street, city, until April 18.
ADAM HILLS, Hi-Fi Bar, Swanston Street, city, until April 18.
GREG FLEET, Power Room, Melbourne Town Hall, until April 18.

Fresh-faced, Scottish-Indian comedian Danny Bhoy was one of the festival's buzz-worthy success stories last year.

Now selling out the Hi-Fi Bar with his charismatic, but biting, brand of humour, Bhoy had the audience eating out of his hand at Thursday's show. Bhoy takes obvious issues, such as Australian, Scottish, English and American stereotypes, but is so good at imitating accents that he gets away with what is seemingly safe material.

Because of his distinctive good-looks and boyish (excuse the pun) charms, when his material extends below the belt, his audience is initially shocked, but ultimately amused. It's a quality show that demonstrates growth in Bhoy's delivery and confidence.

Most of the elements that made Bhoy such a cheeky success were missing from Sydney comic Adam Hills's show Go You Big Red Fire Engine 2 - the sequel to his festival hit from a few years ago. Hill is an obviously talented performer and drew some easy laughs with his excellent array of accents.

But the general material Hills offered (when he wasn't talking to the audience - which took up almost a third of the show) was mostly dull and lacked any edge. The rant on the evils of big corporations - in particular Disney - was cliched, tedious and not particularly funny. Some of the audience found Hills's nice guy schtick captivating but the truth is, he needs more solid material. Hills's past two shows at the festival have been solid, polished efforts.

Festival veteran Greg Fleet is offering something different this year. Having being burnt by his experiences in Sydney's sadistic commercial radio community, Fleet has developed an ironic and sarcastic show detailing the rise and fall of a radio DJ - Cash Driveway - as he ascends the ranks of community radio, FM-rock and then transforms to a far-right shock-jock in an hilarious 3AW send-up.

The show's pace is fast, and while some jokes don't work, there are consistent laughs.

Fleet incorporates fresh topics and generates some hilarious talkback radio moments with the audience. It's great to see Fleet doing something different and kudos must go to his sound assistant, who had an unwieldy job mixing in large chunks of music and dialogue.

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Danny Bhoy, Milton Jones, @Newtown and Sydney Comedy Store, March 11

Bhoy's delivery is charming and natural, his timing is excellent, his pin-up status is strong (as strong as the will of copious women competing to buy him drinks) and his jokes (short set-ups and narratives) are accessibly laugh-inducing. Problem is, a lot of Bhoy's set has been done before and even though this is his first proper season in Sydney (he briefly appeared at last year's Big Laugh Comedy Festival) and most of the audience hadn't seen him before, the gig felt like a let-down for long-term fans.

It could be argued that when a pop band tours, it's normal for them to play their hits because the fans want to hear them. So why can't a comedian present his or her hits? The audience was laughing at Bhoy's material but it's hard to tell if he has developed as a comedian if a lot of the humour has been heard before. When Bhoy does venture out from his well-honed bag of funnies the results are heartening.

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Scottish born, Danny Bhoy was the best selling comedian at this year's Edinburgh Festival, selling over 12,000 tickets in just 3 weeks. This is hardly surprising for one of the now top selling comedians in both Australia and New Zealand. What is surprising is that Danny Bhoy only began his stand up career 6 years ago. His unique brand of observational humour, and natural gift for storytelling has captured the hearts and minds of fans around the globe, and his popularity continues to rise at a meteoric pace.

His latest show was described as 'extremely funny, enchanting and charismatic.' Danny is constantly evolving and developing, which keeps his stand up fresh and exciting.

2005 promises to be a huge year for him, as he takes on some of the biggest comedy festival venues around the world with a brand new show. In addition, this year, Danny is developing some long awaited TV projects. As one critic put it, 'the wonder-Bhoy has the comedy world at his feet....'

Press Quotes:

"Danny Bhoy is the King of Cool"
The Stage. 2004

"Warm, endearing and bisteringly funny"
The Scotsman. 2004

"He exudes all the charisma and unbridled energy of a younger Billy Connolly"
Metro. 2004

"The audience left the room with huge beaming grins, a warm fuzzy feeeling inside, and aching sides. The Bhoy done good"
Edinburgh Evening News. 2004

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A Bhoy with a comic touch
By TIM LLOYD
24jan04
DANNY Bhoy says his name reflects his mixed Scottish/Indian heritage. Bhoy is his mother's maiden name. At first, I'm not sure if he is joking, but later on in our phone interview he talks about the difficulties of growing up in Moffat, a Scottish town near the English border.

He's writing some autobiographical material he plans to take to the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe. "It was quite tough," he recalls. "It was a small Scottish town and we were the first half-Asian family to arrive in town and be accepted.

"The previous attempts had all failed. It was a struggle with funny and tragic sides to it."

Danny Bhoy is one of those comedians who likes to tell stories rather than tell jokes.

He is making his first assault on the Adelaide Fringe, but if his success elsewhere is anything to go by, Adelaide will take to him.

His first foray into Australia was at last year's Melbourne Comedy Festival and he was a hit, selling out within a week.

He started out in comedy just four years ago, as best man at his brother's wedding.

"That's when I decided I quite enjoyed doing it," he says. "Two weeks later, I booked myself in at the Edinburgh Fringe."

Given that Scotland hosts the world's biggest fringe and comedy festival, the comedy is pretty thin on the ground, he says.

"What happens is a lot of comics descend on Edinburgh for four weeks for the Fringe and then there tends to be a drought. I am one of the few comics who doesn't pack up his bags and leave Edinburgh. It's weird up there. It's like a ghost town," says Danny Bhoy.

He used to be taken to the Edinburgh Fringe by his older brothers. Today, he travels the world with those comedians he saw then. All, that is, except that most famous of Scots comics, Billy Connolly. Danny Bhoy says Connolly was one of his boyhood heroes, and his delivery of humour is similar.

"It's a mixture of tales and observations and that's where my style originated, although it has grown and developed," he says. "He was the biggest comic in the world when I was growing up. I met him very briefly when I was about 11 when I went to the Highland Games in Inverary and he used to have a house nearby and he came down and was having a beer.

"I was star-struck and I went over and patted his dog, and he told me to f... off. And that's a true story."

From playing short seasons and one-night stands all over Britain, Danny Bhoy's career has evolved to seasons that run for a month at a time and sell out 250-seat venues. Now he lives in London, which he describes as having "more comedy clubs per square mile than anywhere else in the world".

"Melbourne went so well last year that I have taken on quite a big (450-seat) room there this year," he says.

"So Adelaide for me is a clean sheet as well. I am looking forward to stamping a mark there."


Danny Bhoy plays at Nova Cinema 2 for the whole Fringe.

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http://www.theage.com.au/news/arts-r...861319893.html

Bhoy is charming, cheeky and funny, all rolled into one attractive package.



Danny Bhoy: a must-see.



GenreComedyLocationAthenaeum TheatreAddress188 Collins St, MelbourneDate12 April 2006 to 7 May 2006Tickets$23-$28 ($22 Tue)Phone Bookings1300 660 013Online Bookingswww.ticketmaster.com.auDetailsTue-Fri and Sun 8.15pm, Sat 8.30pm.
COMEDY FESTIVAL REVIEW

A sell-out crowd is the first indicator a comedian might be a goer. The second - an hour of non-stop punchy gags, witty insights and killer accents - suggests they might just be the hit of the festival.

Danny Bhoy, one of this year's many international acts, is entertaining, charming, cheeky and funny, all rolled into one very attractive package.

So irresistible is he that, on the night we went, several teenage girls in the front row could not resist the chance to throw posters ("Marry me, Danny", "Be my Bhoy") and a toy giraffe on stage. All very rock star.

His latest offering sees Bhoy poking fun at his Scottish heritage, lampooning everything from his country's more irritating national emblems (the thistle and bagpipes) to the Scottish diet - a mix of deep fried food and black pudding, otherwise referred to as a "scab".

He also discusses church hymns, choirs, American football, his upbringing and fireproof flags, with fantastic success.

But his greatest moments come from his uncanny accents and impersonations which cover everything from Australian bogans to French restaurateurs, plus his trademark little Irishman.

Scotland's Danny Bhoy is impressive. His simple observations are delivered with hilarious punchlines and he creates a remarkable intimacy with his audience. A must-see.

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http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ontentID=23049

Pipes call Danny Bhoy to Perth


8th March 2007, 8:00 WST





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The first time I saw Danny Bhoy was at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow a few years ago, cracking jokes about whisky-flavoured condoms.

After a long, hilarious routine, he ended with the revelation we’d need to lick about 57 prophylactics to get drunk. Four years later, it’s the only joke I remember from the night.

“Christ almighty, that must’ve been a while ago — I can’t even remember it!” he laughs from Melbourne.

“I picked them (the condoms) up on the Roadshow. When I saw them, I thought, I’ve got to get a pack of that.”

Since then the Scottish comedian has toured extensively, honing his craft on the road from Las Vegas to Launceston and appearing on television in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.

Like all good stand-up comedians, Bhoy is sharp enough to be able to weave everyday observations (or condoms) seamlessly into set pieces.

“I like to keep it loose — at the moment I’m working on various set pieces for the show, which are going very well so I’ll do some of them,” he says.

Bhoy’s first show in front of a tough home crowd in Edinburgh was mainly jokes but he believes a comedian must offer more to keep the crowd’s respect.

“I do one or two stories in an hour with lots of going off on to other subjects,” he explains. “You want to be seen as saying something important and changing people’s thoughts about things. But it’s got to be funny. I feel I’ve got an obligation to make people think as well as laugh.”

Bhoy is bringing his solo show to Perth’s His Majesty’s Theatre for the first time this week. The current tour has also seen him playing regional dates across Australia in venues as small as the local town hall. Wherever he plays, Bhoy tries to create an intimate rapport with the audience.

“It’s about feeling the borders of the room and bringing them as closely to you as possible,” he says. “It’s about making a thousand faces into 10 in your mind. If you don’t connect with them, they get bored.”

And while comparisons with Billy Connolly are flattering yet inevitable for any Scottish comedian, Bhoy believes Connolly was from another era.

“The kind of phenomenon Billy Connolly was, you just don’t get these days. There are so many comedians these days and everyone’s got an agenda.

“Ninety per cent of them are doing it to get into television or acting. The only thing I emulate about Billy Connolly is the raw love of live comedy, which he did before he got into television or films.”

In a cut-throat comedy world where everyone has an agenda, what does Bhoy aspire to?

“My agenda is to get really good at live comedy because it’s what I do and it’s what I do best,” he says.
RANIA GHANDOUR
Danny Bhoy’s shows at His Majesty’s Theatre today, tomorrow and Saturday at 8pm have sold out. Tickets at BOCS for a second Saturday show at 9.45pm.