Dave Johns, Edinburgh Festival, review: LA non-confidential

Edinburgh is currently playing host to a bona fide film celebrity. Or should that be fillum celebrity? Dave Johns was a respected circuit comedian for three decades until Ken Loach cast him in I, Daniel Blake. In Johns’ quietly triumphant Fringe return I, Fillum Star, he gives us a unique peak behind the red carpet, from Cannes to the Bahamas.

As well as bagging awards the genial Geordie has collected enough anecdotes to keep a decade of dinner parties entertained. There’s singing Goldfinger to Sean Connery, sharing a toilet with Woody Allen, sniffing Meryl Streep’s neck. And that’s just the hors d’oeuvre. Johns has clearly been enjoying his time with Hollywood’s A list.

This isn’t really a show, however. It is essentially a 62-year-old chatting about hanging out with Juliette Binoche and Isabelle Huppert. He is cheeriness personified. When Ken Loach told him he had the lead as the titular joiner navigating the benefits system Johns said: “It’s not fucking Spider-Man but I’ll have a go.”

The sparkly eyed stand-up is convivial company and can certainly hold your attention. And not surprisingly, given his breakthrough cinematic work, there is politics here too. He wishes we weren’t leaving Europe. Apart from various other reasons, the Continent has been showering him with plaudits for his acting.

Johns’ rise has taken him in an unexpected direction at an unexpected time in his life. He recalls how he received one award the same day he received an over-sixties bowel cancer testing kit in the post. It is obvious from his cheeky grin which one made him happier.

Until Aug 27 (0131 226 0000, edfringe.com). Nov 7–18, Soho Theatre, W1 (020 7478 0100, sohotheatre.com)