Time InPaul Burston/Time Out
For David Hoyle, aka The Divine David, the transition from cabaret stage to television screen hasn’t been an easy one. For some years now, critics from Time Out to the Guardian to the Independent On Sunday have been touting his manic, malcontent stage persona as the next big thing, but attempts to reach a wider audience via the more populist medium of television have been largely unsuccessful. Even his recent appearances on ‘The Comedy nation’ failed to set the world alight – which must be doubly galling for a man who prides himself on being an avant-garde anarchist.
All this could change with the arrival of ‘The Divine David Presents’, a new six-part series for Channel 4, showing as part of the ‘4 Later’ late night slot on Friday evenings. Produced by World of Wonder (whose love of unruly, cable TV-style performances makes them ideal collaborators), the show combines surreal humour with a healthy dose of agit-prop, not to mention those all-important make-up tips. A selection of different performance artists is featured each week, linked by monologues and public walkabouts by the man himself.
Unlike previous outings, this show makes the most of the fact that The Divine David works best when he’s up close and personal. According to David, the show is "a celebration of the avant-garde, with a populist twist."
The reason it works, he suggests, is that he was allowed to be a lot more spontaneous than on previous occasions. "Obviously, it isn’t quite as spontaneous as live performance. You have to direct things toward the camera. Personally I feel that I have formed a special relationship with the camera. I see it as a window of opportunity. I project myself down the lens, and into the viewer’s face. I do think it’s important to get that contact."
If all this sounds slightly mad, it’s probably meant to. Madness is part of The Divine David’s stock in trade, and he’s overjoyed at the opportunity to spread it a little further. "I call it outreach work. I like the idea of prisoners watching the show – you know, people who can’t get to live shows. Hopefully they’ll show it in hospital wards too. It’ll give mentally ill people encouragement. They’ll watch and think that maybe eventually, they’ll get their own television series."