Review: Colin Hoult - Inferno

Review: Colin Hoult - Inferno

17 August, 2011
by: Emma

Colin Hoult's new show is full of imagination and subtle humour, says Emma McAlpine.

This year, Colin Hoult completes a trilogy of sorts; following up his two previous character shows about villains and monsters with a motley crew of heroes. As ever his creations have an undercurrent of tragedy running through them, with plenty of human traits to bring even the most unlikely to life.

We meet Thwor, God of Thwunder (really Norman from Leeds with a lisp) who preaches outside Londis with his 'hammer' (a sponge on a pen) and a black wig. Then there's cool cat Eddie Cartesian, who recently lost his wife and appears to have replaced her with an unnatural love of St Germain and an ambiguous sexuality. Further characters include a voyeuristic poet obsessed with his 'pervert' neighbour Preston Pearce, a dog with who wants to play fetch with the audience, crime fighting Little J Parker and a senile old man who calls everyone he meets "Billy".

The beauty of Hoult's characters is their complexity; they are all delusional, vulnerable people living on the fringes of society, and as the show develops so do their stories and their motivations. At times, some of his characters are more tragic than comic but this is not is not a show designed for big laughs, the humour is subtle and comes from the vehemence of his characters' convictions.

There are a couple of odd theatrical touches: Dan Snelgrove and Zoe Gardner ably assist with small supporting roles but at times their shadowy background presence seems a little superfluous. There's a big white elephant of a set tree that is never integrated and some songs that could be scrapped. Overall however, this is another delightful show from the talented comic actor and while it's not going to get the most laughs of the Festival, it coud certainly be classed as one of the most imaginative. 

Colin Hoult: Inferno is at the Pleasance Courtyard until the 29th August.

Emma