In a fiercely funny hour, Craig Hill meets some old friends from high school, terrorises the audience and gets them singing about Scotland’s new towns. A show full of fun which revolves around crowd work, it is true to its title, Hill will go after anyone for any reason, be that their name, place of birth or even their job. The show is a great laugh, especially if you’re going as a group and fancy seeing your pals or family get torn to shreds by a very capable comic. The show does, however, start to feel a bit repetitive with the reliance on audience interaction, some people aren’t necessarily up for being on the receiving end of his brutal remarks, which can lead to some awkward silences that Hill deals with expertly.
Hill’s natural delivery comes across well alongside his quick wit when dealing with the audience, but a lot of his crude sexual jokes can feel rather vulgar instead of funny. Most of these bits were great but with the majority of the show revolving around this material and crowd work, it begins to feel a bit forced and too perverse to laugh at sometimes. There is a sweet moment at the end where he brings up an audience member for a dance off, which draws plenty of laughs and cheers, especially when the guest isn’t a very good dancer…
Minus the vulgarity of some material, this show is good laugh and Hill possesses a unique charm which grants him full control of a big audience who are usually more than willing to share details about themselves at their expense.
Craig Hill: You’re Not Even Safe Up The Back!, 19:25. Just The Atomic Room at Just The Tonic Nucleus Aug 6-30 (not 17, 18, 24, 25)
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/craig-hill-you-re-not-even-safe-up-the-back
