Dave Twentyman takes to the stage at The Forum in Darlington on Thursday 27th October for another extraordinary night in the Hilarity Bites Comedy Club series.
Twentyman’s latest showcase is an exploration of the mind of the man himself, with the simple and sobering title ‘Dave Twentyman Has ADHD’, a concise signpost of the direction of the show which doubles as a neat encapsulation of the life behind the comedic storytelling on display.
Twentyman himself describes the show thus: “This show is for those people I see nodding in recognition in the audience when I talk about ADHD in my comedy set. It’s for the people who come up to me after the show and say “that’s exactly what it’s like for me”. It’s for the people who love someone with ADHD and it’s also for those who just want to understand it more”. That quote bears a verbatim repetition, summarising as it does a comedy show with a heavily educational angle and a particularly grounding premise, delivered by a great talent.
The ADHD Foundation itself pays tribute to the material with the endorsement that “Dave’s lived experience of ADHD is the source of his creativity and lightning quick humour. A hilarious and moving account of genius minds in a mundane world”. Despite being first and foremost a prominent neurodiversity charity rather than being notable for any expertise on the world of stand-up comedy, the second sentence from the Foundation strikes as an accurate description of most stand-up, while the first is as strong a summation of Twentyman’s proficiencies as any press could muster.
Irrespective of the vulnerabilities conjured by the subject matter of this tour, Twentyman is already renowned for his warmth as a performer, with an affability which is especially flexed when engaging the crowd directly. This combines seamlessly with a natural gift and razor-wire wit, as well as a flair for narrative; a package constituting a veritable Mount Rushmore of stand-up comedy fundamentals. He boasts a diverse tenure taking in everywhere from comedy clubs to major music festivals and is much favoured by elders of the Northern scene such as Dave Spikey, John Bishop and Jason Manford.
While the show is already well-toured, Twentyman is accomplished enough to be comfortable with any given audience, thriving as much on unpredictability as on his planned material by virtue of his effortless badinage, putting comedy crowds in safe and side-splitting hands.
Tickets, priced at £10.50 in advance, are available from theforumonline.co.uk.
