Review: Bec Hill: I Didn’t Want To Play Your Stupid Game Anyway – Guilded Balloon, Edinburgh.

Bec Hill

Taking to the stage dressed almost in schoolgirl attire, Bec Hill begins her set by drinking a glass of lemonade through a silly straw as the voice of her ‘inner adult’ chastisingly reads out a laundry list of all the childish things she, by way of becoming an adult, is no longer allowed to do – somewhat predictably, also including drinking through a silly straw. The contrast between Bec’s child-like appearance and the booming voice sets the scene for the love-hate conflict between childish innocence and responsibility that Bec explores in her hour long set.

‘I Didn’t Want To Play Your Stupid Game Anyway’ deals with the social and personal issues of growing up. Bec poses the question, “What is an adult anyway?” and through some excellent and, occasionally surprisingly, dark material she rips apart the audiences preconceived notions of what it means to be truly grown up. There is an impressive degree of creativity in the show.

It’s obvious Bec loves performing and her enthusiasm is infectious, none more so than when she reveals that she was approached to write an advert for tampons for a major brand that was ‘unfortunately rejected.’ The audience is treated to a preview of this advert through the means of Bec’s sketch pad, featuring some hilarious cartoons and set to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” ending in a rather hilarious if slightly disgusting pun.

Bec expertly treads the fine line between performing a straight stand up set and lecturing to her audience – her material never feels harsh or judgemental thanks to her wickedly dark sense of humour. She is not afraid to laugh at herself or at the things we adults take for granted, and to bring out the absurdity of every day relationships and situations. It was refreshing to see a female comedian take such a unique and universally appealing route in creating a comedy routine and a choice that the audience rewarded with rapt attention and hearty laughter. Thoroughly recommended.

Date of live review: Thursday 12th August.

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