Comedy: Alan Davies interview
Victoria Nangle has a chat with the QI resident about his return to stand up after all this time
What prompted you to return to stand-up?
“I don’t know really, it was a bit of a process of coming round to it again. I had a friend of mine in Australia, a promoter nagging me and the opportunity came up to do some dates in Australia when we were there doing QI live. Me and Stephen Fry went there last year and did shows in theatres.”
What sort of topics have you found for the new show?
“I’m doing a fair bit about being a dad and a fair bit about the ‘80s, which is now coming across as all nostalgic but of course the ’80s is when I started doing stand-up so it’s really peculiar to me. I’m doing a fair bit about social networking, some stuff about sex toys – which I enjoy doing – a bit about my two lesbian dogs… so something for everyone.”
Are you likely to tour QI in the UK as you’ve toured it in Australia?
“I think we’d like to, the hurdle we have to overcome is we don’t own QI. John Lloyd gave up half the rights to Fremantle Media and Fremantle Media are an Australian company, that’s why it worked in Australia.”
Do you get bugged by people wanting you on their quiz team?
“No, on the contrary, everyone assumes I know nothing.”
You’re on a show where you get berated for saying things like ‘bees make honey’. How can you win?
“I know, it’s very unfair. Many, many times I thought: ‘this just isn’t fair’, then I remember it’s my job. Jobs can be unfair sometimes.”
Do you have a QI fact that you keep behind your ear for dinner parties when people corner you about it?
“The only one I remember is the one about the Vikings. You know, when they set out onto the open seas, how they would find land would be by taking a raven with them – or several ravens I presume – and they would release a raven and it would go up very very high and if it saw land, it would head for it and they would follow it. And that was because it can’t land on water so if it doesn’t find land it would just come back to the boat. I thought that was so clever, that’s the way I am, at the level of the Vikings. Without the rape and pillage I hasten to add.”
Alan Davies – Life Is Pain, Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, Sun 16 Dec, 8pm, £25/£21
