Toussaint Douglass crosses the sea with Accessible Pigeon Material for the first time ever

Stand-up comedian Toussaint Douglass brings his act Accessible Pigeon Material to India this month

“A lot of pigeons in London are pedestrians; they walk more than they fly,” jokes stand-up comic Toussaint Douglass. “Those are regular pigeons; you also have the fancy London ones — they stay up in the trees.” He is talking about his show Accessible Pigeon Material that is coming to India in March.

Toussaint is unapologetic about his admiration for this bird, which is often not kindly looked upon by city-dwellers, both in India and the United Kingdom. “If a pigeon makes a deposit on your shoulder, that is probably karma for having teased it when you were younger. So be nice to pigeons — they remember faces”.

That is not a line from his act. Toussaint is right: pigeons do recognise faces. And, passionate as he is about them, the comic has garnered nuggets of information about these birds which end up in his sets. For instance, those high class pigeons he was talking about? “Pigeons originally flew in from coastal areas, and are used to roosting in cliffs. In cities, they settle down on building ledges or under railway arches. At least, the ordinary ones do. The fancy ones live in trees; they have literally made it off the streets.”

Toussaint says a lot of people wonder about his subject and he agrees they are a curious choice. “But I just really like them. It is as simple as that.”

He .continues, “I grew up in Lewisham in South East London, which is an urban environment, and pigeons were a gateway to nature and wildlife for me. They are as much a feature of life there as London’s red buses.”

For the most part though, pigeons are an overlooked lot, feels Toussaint, “But, when you take the time to watch them, they are quite funny and exhibit humorous characteristics. My show is a celebration of the pigeon. I wanted to celebrate this ordinary, but extraordinary bird in my own way.”