Simon Ward reviews Kieran Hodgson:Voice of America at the Soho Theatre

Fans of BBC 2 comedy Two Doors Down will already be familiar with Kieran Hodgson but he was a new face for me, although the fact that he looks uncannily like a young David Tennant makes it feel like you know him already.  This feeling is compounded by an affability and charm as a performer that is frankly irresistible.

Although delivered in what you might call a ‘stand-up’ style – one man and a microphone – it is not really a stand-up show. There is a clear narrative thread, and many themes running through the evening. It is a kind of love letter to America, but with plenty of acknowledgment of how problematic that can be nowadays. Indeed, it’s probably always been somewhat problematic. Think of any president that you like and admire and they will have done deplorable things – Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, Obama’s failure to close Guantanamo Bay. Yet, in spite of all that, Hodgson has determinedly loved the USA since childhood, in the face of parental disdain. As he comes on stage we are invited to get to our feet and whoop and holler to the strains of ‘Born in the USA’ – that insane American energy is part of what he finds so attractive.

Hodgson is a great mimic and we are treated to a variety of characters as he narrates his journey as a kid growing up in the North of England who gradually becomes more and more fascinated with the States. It’s a very personal show but he manages to find a universal resonance. We have all had to contend with different levels of parental disapproval, or sibling rivalry. His addiction to all things American chimed for me with my avid interest in the goings on in London from my remote Irish backwater. The apotheosis of his American dream is when he manages to land a small role as a sandwich maker in the lesser-known DC superhero movie The Flash. This was also new to me, but Hodgson’s telling of it was so compelling and hilarious that I looked it up on You Tube – it is one of the funniest five minutes I have spent in a long time.

The show is outrageously funny. Hodgson is self-deprecating, witty and insightful. Even if you don’t share his love of arcane Americana, you will understand where he is coming from. It is also unexpectedly touching as he discusses his relationships with his parents – they think they dislike America but the playlists on their car journeys tell a different story. The elephant in the room when it comes to the USA right now is, of course, the 47th president. Hodgson steers clear for most of the evening until he finally delivers a moving peroration as Trump, in words the man himself would never use.

Following this run at the Soho Theatre, Hodgson is taking the show to the Edinburgh Fringe and then on tour. Catch him if you can.

Kieran Hodgson:Voice of America is running at the Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE until 28th June.