Puns and punches: the boxing standup donning his grandad's gloves
20 August 2019 05:00
James McNicholas is used to performing comedy sketches. Now he’s letting his guard down for the story of middleweight champ turned movie star Terry DownesThey called him the Paddington Express. Terry Downes was a ferociously charismatic British boxer who steamed his way to the world middleweight title in 1961 and delighted fight fans with one-liners as sharp as his blows. Downes’s tale, from scrapping on the streets of London as a child to sporting success and an unlikely movie career, is the subject of a new show at the Edinburgh fringe performed by his grandson, James McNicholas. The Boxer, staged in one of the Pleasance’s sweaty Bunker venues and directed by Tom Parry, mixes punches with punchlines in a style that does Downes proud.With his first solo show, McNicholas – who has previously visited Edinburgh with the sketch comedy trio Beasts – contrasts his grandfather’s life story with his own. He takes to the stage in a Lonsdale tracksuit, and at one point dons boxing gloves, to play a heightened version of Downes. These character-comedy scenes about “Pop”, as McNicholas always knew him, are intercut with more traditional standup routines in which he compares his achievements with those of his grandad. Downes was a world champion at 25 while McNicholas was once told by a PE teacher that he was so unfit he’d be dead by that age.James McNicholas: The Boxer is at the Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, until 25 August Continue readingread full article
