Adam Hills, Soho Theatre

Genial Aussie comic goes off piste and straight down a blind alley

by Veronica LeeSaturday, 16 October 2010

Your comic needs you: Adam Hills's new show is based on his audience's stories

It’s an interesting concept that Adam Hills has come up with for his latest show, Mess Around. The ever-smiling and hugely likeable Australian - a longtime sellout hit at the Edinburgh Fringe but who has yet to make a broader breakthrough like his peers - is a past master of audience interaction, so why not ditch the material and make that the show?

Predictably it all fizzles out; the audience’s suggestions are a bit rubbish and the text is as sexy as a pair of soiled pants

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Permalink Submitted by Dan (not verified) on Mon, 18/10/2010 - 06:12

Having seen Adam Hills before in Edinburgh I'm not surprised about this review. Rather than prepare a decent gig (in comparison to the excellent Russell Kane) he seems content to give his audience "improvised" off-the-cuff material which basically means he relies on a bit of charm to excuse the lack of jokes. I think its time he writes a show and stops insulting his audience in more ways than one.

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Permalink Submitted by N O'S (not verified) on Mon, 18/10/2010 - 17:10

And I've seen Adam Hills do absolutely glorious aching-laughing-muscles improvisation shows. It works more often than it doesn't because he's quick and clever and positive. Re Russell Kane: you're right, his Edinburgh show was well constructed but after he'd won the award for some reason he bombed totally. At a "best of" gig Russell was so bad he was shouted off the stage, ashen, at the end of the month.

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