As soon as Hils Barker comes on stage you can tell she has got a strong personality and presence. She is physically small, but she more than makes up for it verbally, as she launches herself into a one hour tour de force where she tries to cram as many different jokes and topics as possible, while talking faster than Speedy Gonzalez.
The audience likes her, and warms up to her very easily as she swears, sings and mimics different voices, but half way through the show one starts to feel a bit overwhelmed, and wishes Barker would stop to regain some air. If only she learned to pace herself, give time for jokes to be assimilated and create some tension instead of just blurting it all out, the audience would love her, instead of just like her.
As for the subject matter of her rants, mainly the world, politics and music, the audience might feel like they have heard it all before, but Barker knows how to personalise all this ideas, and make them hers, relating to similar problems an spectator might have had, or cleverly acknowledging when someone hasn’t liked a joke (defending it with a: ‘you don’t think, oh well… I do!’) or when someone nods to her references.
At the end of the show Hils Barker has a list of things she would like to do to make this a better place. She might no change the world, and her alone won’t stop any war, but she makes you feel a little happier on your way back home.
3/5
Adrian G. Velazquez
