After a decade away from the stand-up comedy circuit, British comedian and actor Alan Davies is returning to the mic with Life is Pain. You might recognise Davies from the highly successful BBC game show QI hosted by the mind-bogglingly intelligent Stephen Fry. Apart from working with one of the most recognisable gay intellects of today, Davies has also starred in the popular series Jonathon Creek. Davies has also played a gay man in the television series, Bob & Rose. Well, he played a gay man who fell in love with a woman – work that one out. Davies spoke to OUTinPerth from London about fatherhood, Stephen Fry and working with Queer as Folk director Russell T. Davies.
‘The last time I did a show was in the Edinburgh Festival in 2001,’ Davies said.
Since 2001, Davies met his wife, the children’s author Kate Davies; had two kids; and continued working on stage and in both television and film.
‘It’s more I can’t really believe it’s been that long since I did it.’
‘Each year goes by and I haven’t been to another festival and I haven’t come up with a new show. I never thought when I left the stage in 2001 that would be the last gig I would do for 10 years. So now I’m quite enthused by it, I’m quite looking forward to it’
Davies had had more than a decade of experience in stand-up before the new millennium so he appears modestly confident about creating a new show without digging into the old catalogue of material. He said the trick to a good joke was that element of truth.
‘It’s the usual hodgepodge of ideas and events from life and there’ll be some stuff about parenting – I’ve got two small children so they’re a bit part of my life right now.’
‘Life is pain was something we overheard a six year-old saying to her mother which made me laugh so much.’
‘The peculiar thing about having children, and I talk about this in the show, is that people find a new way to let you know what they think of you by talking to your children about you.’
‘It’s amazing how often it happens; people say things to children deliberately to be overheard by near-by adults… that and the fact I’m now very familiar with early mornings which after many years as a comedian, I had no idea what they were like.’
Davies said it was finding those points in life that other people can relate to that were necessary to making people laugh.
‘To really make you laugh it’s the feeling that something that resonates with your life.’
In autumn of 2001, Davies appeared in the six-part series Bob & Rose directed by Russell T. Davies, the director behind the original UK version of Queer As Folk. The love story followed Bob, played by Davies, a gay man who fell in love with a woman called Rose.
‘It was a fantastic experience’ Davies said, ‘Bob & Rose is the show I’m most proud of in my whole career.
‘Russell’s writing is so good; he’s got such an ear for the way people speak and communicate and such an understanding of emotions and feelings.’
According to Davies, Bob was based on a true story. He was the friend of Russell T. Davies who he described as ‘the gayest man he knew’. But he suddenly fell in love with a woman and shocked and amazed all his friends. Davies had a chance to meet the real Bob at the BAFTA Awards who commended Davies on his TV portrayal of his story.
‘It was a bold thing to put on commercial television; it was bolder to make a show where a gay character was the lead even though it was a gay character in the process of turning straight.’
For Davies, a straight man playing a gay man who fell in love with a woman, he found it slightly ‘confusing’.
‘It’s a bit worrying when you play any part, that you’re convincing but there’s definitely an extra element to it when you’re being asked to play a gay man and you’re not a gay man.’
‘But you don’t want to start adopting any cliché mannerisms, physical or verbal. And of course, gay men are in every walk of life and every profession and they are in all shapes and sizes.
‘He was a school teacher… he didn’t quite fit in, just with the gay scene he was part of when he was younger – he was in that situation you get into in your 30s when you’re not sure if you want to go out every weekend.’
Russell T. Davies helped him avoid the clichés as well as the make up artist on the set. He recalled once asking the make-up artist about kissing a man; pleading for tips or hints.
‘He looked at me like it was the most stupid question and he just said to me “Just kiss himâ€.’
Another wise character in Davies’ life has been Stephen Fry.
‘He’s a force of nature, Stephen.’
‘He carries so much with him, knowledge and wisdom and he’s something of a workaholic so you can be left with the feeling you’re a lesser person and it’s always worth remembering there’s a team of researchers and producers who work on QI who supply him with all the material.’
With QI coming to Perth for October 21 and 23, Perth audiences will get to see Davies and the inimitable Fry in action.
‘He’s a very warm host on the show and he always makes everybody feel very welcome and it’s really like being at Stephen Fry’s dinner party every night.
‘On a good night, it’s exactly what you see on the screen, a funny conversation with funny people making each other laugh. It’s one of the great pleasures of life, really.’
Catch Alan Davies in his stand-up show, Life is Pain on at the Astor from December 2-4 or when QI tours Perth on October 21 and 23 at the Burswood Theatre.
Benn Dorrington
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