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Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghMcNicholas throws down a heavyweight hour of standup and storytelling about his champion grandad Terry Downes
Terry Downes was world middleweight boxing champion in the early 1960s. His grandson James McNicholas is a writer, actor and comedian whose biggest success was an advert for TUC biscuits. “He left big shoes to fill,” McNicholas tells us – “even for a clown.” But McNicholas, one third of the sketch troupe Beasts, goes some way to filling them with this gem of a show about his grandfather’s life – and one his struggle to live up to it.
It starts loosely in Grandpa Terry’s character, as McNicholas adopts a London accent and recounts the early days of his pugilistic career. “I’m taking to this like a duck” – pause – “who’s really good at boxing,” he says, which gives a flavour of the narrative voice. It’s one stuffed with anachronisms and silly jokes, but true to the spirit of a young Londoner hard-scrabbling his way to sporting success. Continue reading...