Billed primarily as comedy, it’s only natural to spend the first few minutes of this show wondering where the jokes are. It’s not that Bonnie Davies isn’t funny, simply that it doesn’t much feel like a regular stand-up show. After a short settling-in period, however, it becomes apparent that I’m High on Life: What Are You On? falls heavily on the side of the storytelling category. As this becomes more clear, it emerges that Davies is presenting something incredibly special.
Welcoming her audience in, Davies conjured up a living room-like atmosphere. Everyone gathered round for poignant and exciting tales from her childhood, ranging from the very silly to the heartbreaking. She shared photos of her parents, siblings, grandparents and animals, and dished out endless stories to accompany them – it felt overwhelmingly like Davies was passing round her family album and letting the room in on their precious and very entertaining secrets.
As the show comes to an end, the audience were treated to an uplifting slideshow featuring some words of wisdom and other amusing quotes from Davies’ grandmother, set to inspirational (if slightly cheesy) music. Davies appears ever so faintly awkward in front of the audience when she’s not mid-narrative, but the focus is on the screen at this point and it’s barely noticeable.
Davies’ aim is to make the audience sit back and consider everything that’s wonderful in their lives and she does this easily through comic tales of love and loss. She’s entirely unpretentious and a natural storyteller. The show is a sincere delight. Davies even let us in on her grandmother’s secret to a long life, captured on film on her 102nd birthday. She’s asked the question, pauses for a moment before saying simply, ‘Keep calm.’
