By: Milo McCabe
Reviewer: Simon Topping
The king of the Greeters Guild relocates his sartorial elegance from the door steps of Poundland and B & Q to the Brighton Dome stage, to the delight of a vocal and appreciative crowd.
Troy Hawke glides onto the stage, the very picture of a 1930’s gentleman, like a 21st century Noel Coward, sporting a purple smoking jacket and holding a large yellow feather. He is here to entertain us, in the first half, in a “loosey goosey” fashion, as he affectionately calls it. He is, in effect, his own warm up man.
Asking the initial question “Have you been dragged along or are you the dragee?” Hawke quickly endears himself to the room, raising laughter as he does. A master of expertly executed crowd work, the fabulous gentleman gently mocks, but never insults, the audience members he interacts with.
Obsessed with numbers and numerology, the entertainer talks to the front few rows and, as he asks their names, he immediately declares what number value their name would be in the word game Scrabble. This is a theme that is to return, with escalating consequences, throughout the show. He changes Andrew to Andi as he goes along as Andrew scores a nine. And apparently no one should be a nine as these are the Scrabble scores of Trump and Hitler.
Most know the raconteur from his short videos on Youtube or social media where the comedian secretly films outside of shops, usually in less than salubrious locations, greeting shoppers into whichever downbeat store he has chosen. The greeting is done with warmth, wit and charm and, of course, without the permission of the establishment in question. This leads to some fabulous interactions with shoppers and staff alike. Some of his encounters are played via the big screen for us tonight. Hawkes’ run in with a rather dour B & Q supervisor is particularly funny.
Behind Hawke is the sharp mind of character comedian Milo McCabe. McCabe is the classic story of a ten year overnight success, plugging away and earning a living on the comedy circuit for over a decade and then all of a sudden, boom! A viral internet sensation; nobody is more worthy of success. His years of audience study, calm reaction and tightly honed improvising skills all come into play in this performance.
As the warm up closes Troy promises the second half will be “5th gear all the way” and he doesn’t disappoint. In part two, “the show proper”, he ramps up the silliness and begins to connect his number obsession to a detailed and funny conspiracy theory, which has the auditorium rocking with laughter as more and more is revealed.
Aside from crowd interaction, Hawke is at his resplendent best when he goes on a rant. In particular his material about dopamine addicts and the people who work in the NHS are hilarious, raising both laughter and applause from the gathering.
Singmund Troy’d is a well honed and highly entertaining treat. The ethos of the show and performer can be summed up in this early interaction: One member of the audience quizzes, “Why do you have a large feather?” Troy’s response “The question should be, why don’t you have one?” Hawke at his best, willing his watchers to join him in his joyful, inclusive and warm-hearted world of madness. A must see.
Reviewed on 10th February and on UK Tour
