Quick-fire style salvages X-rated gags

Jim Davidson - The Devil Rides Out ***

The Playhouse

JIM DAVIDSON'S schtick hasn't changed much. Dressed in tartan trousers and visiting the Edinburgh Festival for the first time, it came as no surprise to see the controversial Cockney poke fun at ethnic minorities, homosexuals and the disabled. The real surprise was it took a full two minutes for the first below-the-belt line to arrive.

Davidson is certainly easy to dislike, however, he's someone you can't help laugh at due to his ability for quick-fire gags. The early material focused on Davidson's Scottish roots: his impossible-to-understand Glaswegian dad, his embarrassing real name (Cameron), and the sexual practices of people from Fife.

Then came the hard stuff. From terrorists and immigration officers to stutterers and people with lisps - the more people laughed the more risqué Davidson got.

His success comes down to the fact his audience appreciates the kind of birds-and-booze jokes that existed well before the explosion of the 1980s alternative comedy scene. Yet for someone who tells gags older than Arthur's Seat, there was scant mention of Davidson's four marriages, nor any juicy anecdotes about life on the set of his TV shows.

The biggest laugh came when Davidson recalled that awkward moment most parents face when trying to describe a sexual term to their teenage offspring. The performance earned Davidson a standing ovation from some.

Which goes to show - while many people loathe Davidson's X-rated gigs, just as many love them.