Bec Hill: Didn't Want to Play Your Stupid Game Anyway at the Camden Head

Bec Hill: Didn't Want to Play Your Stupid Game Anyway at the Camden Head

18 August, 2011
by: Sjk

This young stand-up's amusing foray into the joys of childhood shows a fantastic amount of potential, says Sarah Kendell.

With her innocent gap-toothed smile, petite stature and elfin appearance, Bec Hill is pretty much the perfect comedian to do a show about holding onto your inner child. The host of London’s popular Bright Club comedy night projects the air of that cool, artsy friend you had in high school that could somehow pull off the asymmetrical haircut, hyper-coloured makeup and mismatching clothes without looking like an insane try-hard. This whimsical aura follows her all the way through her hour-long show, Didn’t Want to Play Your Stupid Game Anyway, an ode to crazy drinking straws, painting easels and bad pop music that takes us back to a time when things were simple.

Having already performed this show to considerable acclaim in both Edinburgh and Melbourne over the past year, Hill is in her element and 100% confident in her material, hardly letting tonight’s somewhat sparse crowd attendance faze her. The show begins with a clever pre-recorded voice gag that allows her to more or less have a sibling-to-sibling style argument with herself, and her later, more conventional reflections on the joys of being a child are peppered with these charmingly surreal touches. One of her more inspired ideas is that adults should take up the children’s practice of getting out of trouble through drawing a ‘cute’ artwork depicting their remorse – her Chris Brown and Rihanna example is a particular instance of brilliant black comedy.

Hill’s show is perhaps not of the laugh-a-minute variety, but the gags and stories flow as comfortingly as hot tea out of a pot, thanks in no small part to the comedian’s easy rapport with the audience. With this small crowd the vibe could easily be awkward, but Hill quickly gets us on side with a plethora of banter and interactive tasks – one front-row audience member even volunteers for the somewhat embarrassing job of snogging a life-size sketch of Johnny Depp.

The highlight of the show, though, is undoubtedly Hill’s closing set piece, a concept she came up with when approached by a leading tampon company in Australia to write a television advertisement. The ad was later rejected, assumingly due to its rather off-the-wall nature, but that’s all the better for us getting to see it in all its uncut and completely insane glory – I won’t spoil it for anyone who wants to watch the YouTube video for themselves, but let’s just say it involves a brilliantly disgusting pun on the chorus of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin’.

Her likeable stage presence, obvious intelligence and unique way of thinking stand Hill in good stead for a hugely successful comedic career to come, and with a couple more shows under her belt this should become even more apparent. A sweetly entertaining and highly enjoyable trip down memory lane, Didn’t Want to Play Your Stupid Game Anyway shows a fantastic amount of potential, and I for one will be waiting with no small amount of anticipation for the young comedian’s new full-length offering next year.

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Sjk