For fans of Richard Digance, his twenty-two show run at the Fringe is long overdue. In fact, as he told his audience the other night, he has never performed at the Fringe before. Considering his forty plus year career, it’s a rather remarkable fact. Fortunately, he’s here now, performing twenty-two shows, each different from the one before it.
It is Digance’s easy going and casual style on stage which allows for twenty-two distinct shows. He has the kind of persona you would never expect to have a very strict set list or programme. Instead, every night he draws something different from his large catalogue of songs, books, poems, and personal stories to fill the hour. The result is an intensely casual, very personal, and generally entertaining show which feels, wonderfully, more like a conversation than a performance.
As always, Digance shines with a guitar in his hand. The music is fantastic, and the songs are rib-ticklingly funny. Long-time fans and newcomers alike will find his music wonderfully hilarious, although it is, puzzlingly, a rather small part of the show.
In between songs, those unfamiliar with Digance may feel bored. Some of his stories, while generally interesting, end without a punchline and feel unjustifiably long for a show which is only an hour long. Similarly, given the short length of the show, it is a bit disappointing to have a portion of it spent watching Digance read from one of his own books of poetry, no matter how funny it is.
Digance is most entertaining when he is engaging personally with his audience, and he does that best when he is playing his guitar. On another night, he might play it more; I left wishing he had.Ultimately, for fans of Digance’s writing, songwriting, or storytelling, this is a rare opportunity to see the man perform in Scotland, and it should be taken without hesitation. But the show’s lack of direction is simultaneously its most charming and most frustrating attribute. No other comedy show is likely to make you feel as comfortable and as part of the show as this, but many may find themselves feeling Digance’s show lacks content.
