The Tivoli Theatre was the place to be on Saturday night as Craig Hill brought his inimitably camp, Scottish exuberance to Aberdeen International Comedy Festival.
Hill’s vast comedy experience glimmered on stage from start to finish.
His trademark, cheeky audience rapport was in full swing – no one was safe from his gaze, even those seated towards the back rows or the ill-fated latecomers.
His background in performing also made for many amusing musical interludes, changes of accent and engaging theatrics.
A night of lively entertainment? This certainly was.
Vibrant entrance
As flamboyant as ever, Hill waltzed onto the stage with his kilt flailing, arms outstretched and a grin as wide as the stage upon his face.
It didn’t take long for Hill to hurl out a variety of north-east gags to the local audience, gauging the reputation of local areas based on audience reactions (some fared worse than others).
The theme of regional stereotypes in Scotland peppered its way throughout much of the performance, alongside Covid and plenty of camp references.
Hill’s quick-witted sexual innuendos were razor sharp – some hit the mark while others proved a bit much for others.
Though the theatre sadly wasn’t full to the brim, Hill’s ability to make the room feel packed with laughs was impressive throughout.
And this was most apparent through his outstanding levels of interaction with the Tivoli audience.
Awesome audience rapport
If being picked out from the crowd at a comedy show is not your thing, then by all means, avoid Craig Hill’s shows.
But do so at your peril, because you’ll be missing out on quality comedy that’s improvised, off the cuff and electrically different with every performance.
Some of the not so lucky audience members included a latecomer at the very beginning as well as a brave person walking down the middle of the theatre to head to the toilet.
The content of Hill’s show revolved almost entirely around the audience in the theatre.
His ability to craft a coherent stream of jokes together by talking to different people was very impressive, although he often found himself repeating questions due to being pulled on wide tangents.
There evidently wasn’t much of a script for the show; it was Hill’s natural personality that presented itself on stage.
The audience lapped it up. And after all, what’s better than someone presenting their true self on stage to the fullest?
Top entertainment
Coming to a close with a belly-achingly funny finale with the keen participation of an audience member, Hill succeeded in delivering a night of lively, cheeky, camp comedy to Aberdeen.
Some might say that certain comedians don’t come across as being naturally funny. But that can’t be said about Craig Hill.
HIs bold personality lay at the heart of the show for everyone to cushion themselves into. His unscripted moments were sublime and the energy of his performance complimented the optimism of Saturday night.
More than a ‘kilty’ pleasure, Craig Hill’s show was a real pleasure to watch.
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