Review by Steve Bennett

And as an adult… well, nothing has changed.

If You Can Read This My Cape’s Fallen Off is another one of the many folksy DIY comedy shows in evidence this festival – long on cute charm, if short on substance. Or should that be Long on charm, as Hill is very clearly from Josie’s school of comedy, right down to the way she speaks.

The uncynical pre-adolescent enthusiasm is definitely infectious, and you certainly believe Hill when she breathlessly gushes: ‘I really like talking to people…’ But come seeking jokes, astute observations or engaging stories, and you’ll be left wanting. Likeability, and a cheery compunction to become everyone’s friend, is the whole package.

Although her ramshackle mind wanders distractedly into other areas, some as mundane as imagining herself as a postal worker, the theme for this show is superheroes, and she ponders their powers, costumes and sidekicks. Most of the obvious jokes on the subject are neatly sidestepped – but then again, jokes as a concept seem to be anathema.

She’d rather show us drawings of the perfect cheese on toast, imagine an after-work conversation between Superman and a lisping Batman or show us a short film of her scooter being ‘pimped’ with stickers and cardboard flames into a vehicle befitting a low-rent crimefighter. It’s all rather sweet and creative, and all done with an engaging twinkle in her eye – but not, in all honesty, particularly side-splitting. That seems to be an increasingly common trap for this fast-expanding genre of winsome, lo-fi comedy.

There are some funny moments – and the best are closer to traditional stand-up routines than she might like, such as the scenario imaging a superhero being driven to a epic showdown by their mum – but overall, this is a sweetly smile-worthy hour, rather than an hilarious must-see.

Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

Review date: 1 Jan 2012
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett