Huge Davies Will Return to Edinburgh Fringe With SLEEP PARALYSIS PRINCESS

Critically acclaimed comedian, Channel 4 sitcom creator and one of British stand-up's most distinctive performers, Huge Davies - known for his trademark customised, one-of-a-kind wearable keyboard, offbeat musical comedy and unmistakably deadpan delivery - will return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August with his fourth solo hour, Sleep Paralysis Princess. The show is a surreal and unexpectedly personal look at how Huge has spent the last decade trying and repeatedly failing to get a decent night's sleep.

Huge has sold out three consecutive Edinburgh Fringe runs, touring nationally, appearing across a string of television credits and creating his own Channel 4 sitcom, The Artists. From the outside, things have seemed reassuringly normal. Productive, even. The reality is that for the last decade, when he gets home after a show, he hasn't been able to sleep. Now, on the tenth anniversary of staying awake, he's finally talking about it.

At first it was a breakup that kept him up. At first it was one day, then a week, then months. Not using his bedroom, he even sub-let it to a couple, watching TV and counting all their biscuits like a goblin in the living room throughout the night. Since then, Huge has tried almost everything in pursuit of a cure: therapies, acupuncture, melatonin, magnesium; yes, the metal! He has spent tens of thousands of pounds desperately attempting to do something most people manage every single night by accident. The medicine makes him too drowsy to work or perform, often leading him to hallucinate at times. His appearance on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown is a case in point: he drifted into this semi-conscious state, coming-to midway through recording, answering questions from Jimmy Carr, in front of a studio audience, but with no memory of how he got there. He even found himself sitting opposite a shaman, who confidently informed him that relief was possible for the perfectly reasonable price of £500... but Huge decided he'd maybe come back to that one.

Delivered through his signature musical observations and Huge's unmistakably deadpan absurdity, Sleep Paralysis Princess marks the first show where Huge has turned his full attention to his own life, building a show around a story that is, unusually for him, entirely true, mainly because he's become too tired to invent stories. The objective of the show is simple: to find a cure. Huge will attempt to cure himself of the insomnia; maybe laughter is the best medicine? Early indications are promising, although it does currently require a live, paying audience...

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