If you sit at the front here you do not just see the gig, you become the co-stars. Amiable Aussie Adam Hills says "people are more fascinating than celebrities" and aims to prove it nightly by expertly bouncing off lucky ticket-holders.
Yesterday that meant tackling a Kiwi rugby fanatic, a man marketing Melbourne and, pure comedy gold, a bashful dad, a flirty mum and two squirming daughters.
Like Ross Noble minus the surreal garnish, Hills blended improvised chats with his own polished patter, skilfully embarrassing his victims while charming them. Melbourne's marketing man landed a new slogan ("It's not New Zealand") via an onstage tweeted request and another highlight was fixing up one of the squirming daughters on a date with a man attending the next show.
With the star spontaneously engineering an encounter few here would see, it felt as if we were present at the prelude, not the symphony. It was a great prelude though. And his scripted material was also smart, even if a starstruck anecdote about meeting royalty undermined his idea that people are more fascinating than celebrities. A flawed theory, maybe, but who cares if it spawns riotously funny happenings like this?
Until October 1 (020 7478 0100, sohotheatre.com)
Adam Hills: Mess Around
Soho Theatre
Dean Street, W1D 3NE
