Danny Bevins: Infectious Waste

Danny Bevins was an accident. His conception was an unwelcome surprise. Now the former soldier and jailbird is out to prove he has no special significance.

Bevins has the reassuring, well-rehearsed manner of the American club circuit. He’s consistently funny, unafraid to shift into low-energy nihilism. That said, without cracking out the haggis and kilt jokes, he could adapt more for a local audience. References to hall monitors, mulligans and Blackwater, while understandable, have to be decoded more than enjoyed.

In his steel-grey suit, he looks every bit the professional. He explains this is because white guys in suits are "infectious waste" – able to get away with anything. The theme is intended to tie the show together, but post-banking collapse it feels overly familiar ground. His earnest mutterings about “contamination” become off-putting.

More interesting are his personal stories. The son of a green beret and a devout Christian, and having been in both prison and the army, Bevins has lived a hell of a life. His treatment of finding out he was an accident and stories from his upbringing in Kentucky and army training are dark, considered and hint at something special. You want to hear more about his evidently difficult background, but Bevins seems reluctant to reveal too much. Indeed, he repeatedly thinks he’s being more controversial than he is.

His parents may not have wanted Bevins, but his audience want more.