You just know that any show that begins with a bald man in a kilt gyrating camply to Madonna with a male audience member is going to be a winner. From the moment Craig Hill bounced onto the stage he had the audience’s attention and at no point throughout the course of the show did he lose it. His charismatic stage presence showed he was clearly in his element in front of a crowd, exuding a likeability that put the punters at ease and loudly invited audience interaction. Indeed, interact with them he did – Hill took no prisoners as he playfully mocked and flirted with not only the brave people of the front rows but those in the middle and to the back of the (deservedly) full house as well.
His witty repartee went on to flit comfortably between these moments of audience ridicule to entertaining anecdotes, more dancing and even some surprisingly decent singing, giving the show an unpredictability and diversity that kept the onlookers on their toes while laughing all the way. Undoubtedly, his ability to talk the hind legs off a donkey helps: with hardly time for the audience to breathe, never mind experience a dull or awkward moment in between the quick-fire gags, his enthusiasm for what he does shines through and will succeed in engaging even the ‘dourest’ of folk.
It is a rare occurrence that anybody would actually want to be in the comic’s firing line, but Hill’s sharp responses should have people filling up from the front, if only to allow him to demonstrate what he does best. Quick-witted, hilarious and extremely personable, he is a Scottish gem to be treasured alongside the likes of shortbread, whiskey, Loch Ness and Buckfast and certainly not one to be missed.
