Darius Davies’ new show covers the way in which fake news and online manipulation have affected our digital age, and how we can claim agency back.
Opening with a strange blitz of multimedia, Davies’ show is high-octane, delivering a lot in the hour that you’re with him. He has a certain humanity to him which means that his jokes and observations all feel real, rather than being distant and condescending. His projected photos and videos all work exceptionally well with his jokes, perfectly timed and very well produced. There’s one point in particular where there’s a hilarious slideshow of gross photos set to joyous music, which was probably got the most laughs out of the whole show. Multimedia is core to his show, but it’s obvious that he would still be pretty funny without it.
From the beginning, Davies is on task, starting the show by letting us know how to get cheap subscriptions to popular services. Whilst the rest of the show isn’t as directly didactic as its opening, he stays laser-focused on his topic, talking about his own experiences with trolls and his experiences as a catfish from Tinder. He manages to seamlessly weave jokes, personal experience and broader lessons into his set, staying funny and focused throughout. Also, the things he has to say about social media and the news, in general, are genuinely interesting and intelligent, usually substantiating his theories with examples from his own life. Probably the funniest of these was the way in which with very little effort he managed to scam his way onto the BBC to get revenge against Ryanair, demonstrating the ease at which fake news can be created and spread.
In Persian of Interest, Davies brings a great and funny show with some intelligent and interesting takes on pressing issues in our time.
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