Comedy Review: Adam Hess's Seahorse At Soho Theatre

Seahorse, Soho Theatre ★★★☆☆

By Hannah Foulds Last edited 62 months ago

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Comedy Review: Adam Hess's Seahorse At Soho Theatre Seahorse, Soho Theatre 3

Adam Hess — a cross between the jittery Mark Watson and the observational expert Dave Gorman — has come a long way since being nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award’s Best Newcomer in 2015, sharpening his delivery to become more palatable and far less likely to induce motion sickness.

This show is centred around his life story — from living with his parents as a grown-up: "Why should I take orders from people who have to sit down to send a text message?” to being fired from multiple jobs. Adam’s jokes are fast-paced and, often — again, Gorman-style — delivered alongside a cleverly curated PowerPoint presentation. This is also the first comedian we’ve seen deliver a (funny) graphic design-based joke. Top marks for that.

But what lets the show down is the inclusion of a few long drawn-out narratives in the middle of the act, which don’t seem to reach much of a conclusion. This loses the audience — and, seemingly, his own focus — for what seems like a short but not insignificant amount of time.

He swiftly wins the audience back with observational mime (mimicking the common signals we all make to strangers — you’ll relate to them all) and some final quick-fire jokes, where his unique talent really shines through.  

Seahorse, Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, W1D 3NE. Tickets from £12, until 26 January 2019.

Last Updated 18 January 2019