Kieran Hodgson has been nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award four times. His latest show, Voice of America, has just concluded a sell-out Soho Theatre run and is looking in extremely fine fettle. Could it be fifth time lucky for this consummate anecdotalist?
Previous Hodgson outings have homed in on subjects as diverse as his love of cycling, his passion for Mahler and pre-Brexit Europe. This time he gazes across the Atlantic and explores his goal of cracking Hollywood.
As the cast member of BBC sitcom Two Doors Down explains, in recent years he has seen his friends Nick Mohammed and Richard Gadd go stellar Stateside. And it looked like he had a window of opportunity too when during Covid he made waves sending up Netflix drama The Crown with his (very good) Bad Impressions online series.
Suddenly he was sizzling. A perpetually “super-excited” US agent was repping him and he landed the role as Sandwich Guy in superhero movie The Flash. No, he clarifies, Sandwich Guy wasn’t a superhero with special powers after encountering a radioactive focaccia. He was, well, a guy selling sandwiches. But he did deliver the film's opening lines.
The only problem was the accent. But that was surely no issue for this unashamed Yankophile. The nerdy Yorkshireman loves Home Alone and Will Smith getting jiggy. Even though he is the epitome of polite English restraint he even adores how US audiences whoop. But Tinseltown can be tough to please...
As if to prove a point his performance is peppered with a cascade of impeccable characterisations. Obviously he can do Donald Trump, but he gets enough coverage already. He prefers a challenge so delivers past Presidents instead. It is no surprise his Bill Clinton is spot on. He quips that he has been perfecting “I did not have sex with that woman” since he was nine.
This passable David Tennant lookalike tells his story with skill and verve as he recalls his parents denouncing “American rubbish” and describes a memorable visit to a British pub in Oregon with a Churchill hologram on the wall.
Over a punchline-packed hour Hodgson takes us on a number of gripping journeys, both literal and metaphorical. As well as road trips that didn't quite go to plan there are pertinent reflections on America past and present.
But most of all this is a laugh-out-loud portrait of one man's pursuit of his dream. The Flash may have been a box office flop but Voice of America is a surefire hit. Can he conquer Edinburgh next month? Let’s just say I’m super-excited about the prospect.
Edinburgh Fringe, July 30 - August 24 then touring. Tickets and information here.
