Ten years ago the world lost one of its best, and most controversial, commentator - the great Bill Hicks. Since then comedy has been looking for a successor to the crown but with little success. However, for August at least, the search has been called off as Hicks returns for one last act.
The prospect of someone attempting to impersonate a man of Hicks’ presence should fill any critic worth his salt with dread but, as it turns out, Chas Early manages to deliver the goods. Besides a passing similarity to the comedian, Early manages to mimic Hicks’ many mannerism, expressions and, to some extent, his accent. This in its own if pretty impressive but Early manages to take the illusion further and actually produce a new set that Hicks himself would find hard to fault, unless Denis Leary was performing it of course.
From the foul, perverted comments of Goatboy to the political ire that made Bill famous, Early captures the true essence of Hicks and all that he stood for. This is an unbelievable opportunity for devotees of Relentless et al but it proves to be as entertaining for the uninitiated as it is for the experts.
Chas Early has managed to pull of a truly amazing feat and while we can only wish him every success it only goes to show how much the world is missing the genius of Bill. If you see nothing else this Fringe please see Early before Bill finally leaves the building.
5/5
Richard Biggs
