Colin Hoult's Inferno

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Before dissecting the latest dark offering from Colin Hoult it should be said it could easily be done in the theatre section as much as the comedy one. Genre parameters are blurry, and ever more so, but if you want to be prescriptive about where Hoult's qualities belong that's probably where any label should be slapped. 

One could argue that cross-over pieces help draw new audiences in, of course, and what they are drawn into here is a fairly gloomy world where flawed individuals gain some recognition and acceptance and, in their own way, become heroes. The characters that court our understanding include a jazz obsessive with no friends, a jealous poet, a nervous but eager dog, an amateur crimefighter (somewhat topical) and Thwor and his hammer, who bares a startling resemblance to a man from Leeds.

Amid the rather moody melodrama (introduced by the “three ladies of fate”, who are part Macbeth part Monthy Python) the playful moments come most often when Hoult is ad libbing with the audience and when he is playing the dog character, getting punters to throw him a plastic toy banana and then expecting the person who threw it to fetch it back.

Hoult, who, it is increasingly hard to believe was ever in conventional double act Colin and Fergus, is ably supported by sidekicks Dan Snelgrove and Zoe Gardiner who also appeared in Carnival of Monster and Enemy of the World, his previous two shows. The cast are all enthusiastic in their endeavours but ultimately what they muster has a limited resonance, a result that has come from straddling genres and standing astride sympathy and alienation.