Colin Hoult first came to Edinburgh prominence in 2009 with his acclaimed " Carnival of Monsters". Last year he consolidated his position as the quirk-meister of character comedy with "Enemy Of The World" and an impressive tour-de-force song and dance performance in " Gutted".
This year he returns to the Pleasance Courtyard with " Inferno". Even as you take your seat ( front-rowers be prepared to be involved) you are greeted by some Brazilian chill-out mood music. Then you are aware of Mr Hoult wearing a natty blue cap, dancing and extolling the virtues of producer of this pleasant noise " Sant Germain" ( ?) while involving plenty of the audience.
Soon, this amusing interlude takes a darker form when this character reveals that his obsession with this perfomer led his wife to leave him and the general disintegration of his life.
This is the theme of the show, seemingly ordinary people turned into grotesques, including a Welsh poet angry that his bear poem has not received widespread acclaim, a Thor-like figure revealed as living in Leeds and an elderly woman in a home constantly asking for Billy. Much to the audience's amusement ( if not exactly mine) I had to come onstage and make this lady a cup of tea with butter and hundreds and thousands.
Determined to get as many people involved as possible the show climaxes with the first couple of rows creating a circle round the whole audience in a dramatic plea to the gods.
As you may have gathered this is a strange show. Not as funny as I expected but gradually I realised that isn't the intention. Pathos is the name of today's game. You may not particularly want to live next to these people but you care about their wellbeing.
Overall an impressive and unexpected hour.
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