★★★★

“a polished hour of comedy”

Christian Dart was bigger than the Christmas turkey as a child, and now this larger than life character has some topics he wants to discuss. We open to a gleeful rendition of how Dart was born “bigger than the Christmas turkey”; a musical bonanza that epitomises the show; silly, sweet and entertaining. Dart fills the hour with music, jokes, and a trip down memory lane peppered with commentary on social media, token representation and Andrew Tate. Some of the social commentary is hit and miss, potentially being too tangential and forgetting to be funny, wrapped too much in its message. Much of the material takes on a Bo Burnham-esq style; slick, wordy and paced, with complicated statements rolling off sequentially at an impressive speed. The composition of the songs is high quality and witty, with references to Britney Spears and Star Wars.

Dart talks us through break ups, a highlight being his rendition of “I Really Hope Your cat Dies”, an unhinged revenge song that bathes the stage in red as the singer becomes increasingly more violent in his descriptions, verging on edgy alternative humour. The show switches gear to an Andrew Tate hate song that delves into criticism of Youtubers’ antics in a segment that feels somewhat niche to online discussions. In a delightful moment, Dart shares a sweet original children’s song he wrote for a heartbroken pupil “I’ll Send a box of Chocolates to Myself” which feels honest and enjoyable. The wide ranging selection of topics and songs add to the larger than life theme that runs through the hour, never failing to be engaging. In a unique segment we learn about Dart’s lengthy time with Stage Coach as a child, featuring a gold mine of home videos to prove the self-deprecating stories. Dart appears at home on stage, with plenty of spontaneity and adept showmanship.

The seamless integration of video and songs present a well rehearsed variety, with some segments leaving us wanting to know more; he dated someone entirely through Animal Crossing…what was that like? Instead the focus turns to queer representation in Disney films. In a climactic finish, we delve into the politics of Disney editing token scenes in various movies in a song that loses its humour somewhat, lost in a slightly confusing premise with a confusing point of view. Dart hits his stride with silly original songs about his life but gets bogged down in commentary that feels very internet focussed. Christian Dart presents a polished hour of comedy that displays an extensive variety of music and life lived; both relatable and ridiculous, the show is sure to amuse.

HOSTAGE at the Etcetera Theatre

★★★★

“the overwhelming comedic talent exhibited makes for an enjoyable and hilarious performance”

Hostage is a show about artistic integrity. It’s about creative collaboration and the sanctity of theatre…It’s about a disgruntled playwright who breaks out of prison to threaten his former collaborators into performing the story as he sees fit. We’ve all been there. Created by Bad Clowns Comedy, Hostage is a comedy which utilises spontaneity, energy and badly choreographed sex scenes, “Two sock puppets falling out of a window”, to fill its hour with laughs.

The play uses a cold open to introduce us to Christian (Christian Dart) and John (John Bond), egotistical and hapless actors performing the “Worrisome Troubles of Timothy Potts” (no relation to yours truly). Sam (Sam Walls) escapes from prison and forces the cast and audience into adhering to his artistic vision. Between scenes from the titular Timothy Potts’ life come interactions between hostage, captors, police and ‘Bubbles’ the sound operator (Johanna Dart). The piece closes with a hearty original musical number and a somewhat abrupt finish to the chaos. Its set consists of a small table and chair as part of the ‘Timothy Potts’ biopic piece that is aptly ignored. The show includes humour about theatre making and practical effects with plenty of flour in pockets and human door handles, comparable to ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ or ‘Noises Off.

The story includes ample references to reviewers and theatre conception, creating a self-deprecating meta relationship with the audience. When they started accusing audience of being reviewers I promptly closed my notebook. Audience participation is a major instrument as the characters call on viewers and build on their responses as part of the piece. The cast of Bad Clowns keep energy at 300% throughout, delivering well-crafted gags. Dart and Walls portray co-writers/directors settling old scores with Bond depicting everything from waiter to furniture with commendable commitment and a hilarious pay-off.

With some technical improvements, Hostage could be elevated. A clear distinction between the performance of ‘Timothy Potts’ and the unfolding hostage situation could be better conveyed with differences in execution such as sound effects being more obviously ‘bad quality’ in the Timothy Potts performance and phone calls from the police being more realistic. This is especially important as both moments are depicted with equally heightened drama and comedy. Furthermore, corpsing (breaking character by laughing) intentionally and later corpsing unintentionally can reduce the impact and rapport established with the audience. With all characters being thespians, the heightened energy levels and sincere lack of menace make the piece absurd, silly and thoroughly entertaining.

Hostage as a concept is unique and well-conceived. There are elements for improvement to establish the ‘rules’ of the meta show however the overwhelming comedic talent exhibited makes for an enjoyable and hilarious performance. Hostage is a satirical and ultimately bonkers send up of playwrights and actors. Bond delivers a quiet but scene stealing performance as a dispensable ensemble actor thrown into a real action movie. Dart exudes liveliness and luvviness as the other half of the double act. Walls is a theatrical and menacing villain who threatens the audience almost as much as the cast. Hostage is completely unserious in the best way possible.

Tag Archives: Christian Dart

CHRISTIAN DART: BIGGER THAN THE CHRISTMAS TURKEY

★★★★

Museum of Comedy

CHRISTIAN DART: BIGGER THAN THE CHRISTMAS TURKEY at the Museum of Comedy

★★★★

“a polished hour of comedy”

CHRISTIAN DART: BIGGER THAN THE CHRISTMAS TURKEY at the Museum of Comedy

Reviewed on 8th June 2024

by Jessica Potts

Photography by Johanna Dart

CHRISTIAN DART: BIGGER THAN THE CHRISTMAS TURKEY will also be at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THEATRESPORTS | ★★★★ | August 2023

KATE-LOIS ELLIOTT: GENTRIF*CKED | ★★★ | August 2023

ASHLEY BARNHILL: TEXAS TITANIUM | ★★★★ | August 2023

Christian Dart

Christian Dart

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

HOSTAGE

★★★★

Etcetera Theatre

HOSTAGE at the Etcetera Theatre

★★★★

“the overwhelming comedic talent exhibited makes for an enjoyable and hilarious performance”