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Edinburgh Evening News
17 August 2004
Rating (out of 5): 
LAURENCE CLARK isn't your average stand-up. In fact, he spends the whole show sitting down, but not through choice. Clark is disabled and confined to a wheelchair, and the Jim Davidson Guide to Equality is his response to Davidson's treatment of wheelchair users.
Davidson has come up against major criticism since he cancelled a show after a group of wheelchair users in the front row refused to move to the back. According to Clark, Davidson's excuse was that it was unacceptable for him to be expected to go onstage and take the mickey out of disabled people when there was a whole row of them sitting just a few feet away.
Clark claims to sympathise with the man's plight and is wary of making his audience feel so discriminated against. Just to make sure there's no awkwardness, he does a thorough job of ensuring that neither Davidson, nor any member of his near or distant family, nor any fan or friend has been misled by the show's title and turned up expecting to see Davidson himself.
Once this has been safely established, Clark embarks on a mock campaign for the Jim Davidson People Party, featuring clips and quotes from Davidson's shows. Turns out it's not just disabled people who have been the butt of the comic's jokes - the elderly, asylum seekers, homosexuals and women are all treated with similar disdain.
One of his most shocking gems: "If women just liked to f*** a bit more, there wouldn't be any rape cases", induces gasps of shock. It may seem very serious material, but Clark manages to tackle some of the oldest prejudices head-on and still has the audience in fits of laughter. Hard-hitting, hilarious and an absolute must-see.
