Adam Hills knows how to work the crowd. As he enters the stage he is received with a prolonged and effusive applause, which he retaliates with a charming and laugh out loud show. Hills is not afraid of running over time and even asking you, politely, to stay and wait till the final punch line. Not that the audience want to leave his side, mind you, even if they got somewhere else to go afterwards.
Hills doesn’t hide behind a stage persona, he feels very human, almost like your best friend, as he asks the whole audience to sing Happy Birthday to a 16 year old, or tells you about his new godson and what he wants to teach him. Because this, mainly, is what his show Characterful is all about. Amongst his rants about Scottish patriotism, Football matches and Ceilidh dancing, lays a man who is besotted with his godson, and who wants to become a good role model.
When the show reaches its end, and Hills explains what he has learned from life, what he wants to pass on to the next generation, you forgive him the excessive runtime, and any bad jokes that he has admitted to along the way, as you cannot but share his feelings.
Hills is a perfect comedian, and even greater human being. Throughout the show you get to know more about his persona, about who he is, what he likes and dislikes. It’s a pity then that his act feels short. There is still so much to learn about him.
4/5
Adrian G. Velazquez
