David McIver’s second full hour Teleport is an imaginative exploration of life’s in-between moments that pass in the blink of an eye. The show is based on David’s childhood memories of gaming at home, presented as a cheeky, free-spirited time, with well-observed touch-points we can all laugh about now. It echoes the nostalgic familiarity of the days when all we had to worry about was slow internet connections and chatting to strangers on the world wide web while parents nagged us to do things with them in the real world.
A fresh take on this old game we call life and the lengths we’ll go to escape it, this is a show that hooks audiences in on a niche premise – a quest like no other that uses role-playing computer games to relay a period of David’s youth. It is packed with characters, levelling-up moments, orcs, elves, sexy female elves, heroes, goblins, death and much more sinister than that, a character who works in finance. This show is fully immersive and like any great quest, all is not as it seems and we are faced with twists and turns that unexpectedly seize our emotions to uplift, entertain and move us.
Teleport is a joyful and poignant hour perfectly pitched and paced regardless of whether you’ve been on the verge of a gaming addiction or if – like me- your only memory of computer games is playing snake on your Nokia 2210 on the school bus or humouring your annoying neighbour so you can play Sonic the Hedgehog on their Sega Mega Drive (cos your mum won’t let you have one). The jokes hit at every level (some gamers in the house were rolling in the aisles at the gaming jokes while fans of the absurd enjoyed the layers of physical comedy and energetic pace). This is a heartfelt show that is structured to bring everyone along for the ride as McIver writes what he knows with heart and makes it universally relatable. A creative superpower levelling-up the comedy game.
David McIver: Teleport (directed by Jordan Brookes) runs from 3rd-25th August (not 12th) on the PBH Free Fringe at the Banshee Labyrinth (Cinema Room) at 12:20pm. Suitable for ages 14+. For more information visit https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/david-mciver-teleport
