I went to see the show that's on before at me at the Arts Theatre tonight. It's
Bill Hicks - Slight Return, which is performed by a guy called Chas Early, who I've been playing poker with for a while, but unbelievably I have not seen this long running show, despite many opportunities to do so.
I didn't know quite what to expect - would it be a tribute act or a play detailing Hicks' life? As it turned out it was a somewhat audacious attempt to imagine what material Bill would be doing now, were he to have returned from the dead. This could have been a massive embarrassment, but incredibly Early pulls it off. His impersonation is good - at times I was almost convinced that it was Hicks and the material is not bad at all and surprisingly topical (so they must rewrite the show for every run). Of course had Hicks not died then hopefully he would have moved on and discovered new avenues, whilst this is very much adapting new events to familiar speech patterns and formulas from Hicks' stuff. But it's still enjoyable and in places rather moving and it's worth having a look at if you're a fan of
the man most often cited as the best stand-up of his generation. It's on for another week and then I think that might be the end of the show (though to be honest, I think they've said that before!). But it will probably make you want to go back to your Hicks CDs and videos. Which can be no bad thing. Unsurprisingly the show is good at recreating the rude stuff and the rants and the riffs on rubbish pop stars, but is not able to create the more dazzling and amazing routines that Hicks was capable of - but then if it could Hicks would not be the great that, certainly at times, he undoubtedly was.
There were plenty of people in to see me tonight and it was another really enjoyable show. One more night in London for the moment, so hope you can make it.
