12:09pm Wednesday 13th March 2013
By Daniel Searle
Calling by the theatre prior to Harry Hill beginning his Sausage Time show, to check that the heavy snowfall hadn’t collared the comic en route to Brighton, I was greeted by the sight of a striped mattress leaning against the front of the venue.
Confusing at the time, the reason for this should have been obvious – it was one of the barrage of props woven together throughout the show.
Along with a trombone, a tiny bicycle, and a fox on wheels, the show was a maelstrom of visual jokes, wordplay and out-and-out nonsense. If it was at times hard to keep up with Hill’s unique style of stand-up, this was all part of his manic charm.
Certainly, there were no attempts made to make the show more accessible to the wider audience, presumably accrued by his national success with TV Burp and You’ve Been Framed. The relatively intimate setting and occasional near-knuckle jokes suggested that this was Hill making a conscious effort to return to the more left-field approach which originally attracted a devout, cult following.
Concluding with Hill and his on-stage cohorts fleeing through the back of the theatre as an overwhelmingly enormous inflatable sausage bounced around the venue, it was clear that his brilliance and individuality remains true.
© Copyright 2001-2013 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/trade_directory/