Review of the Two Doors Down star's show about his relationship with the USA

Like it or not, we, as a nation, are culturally and politically obsessed with America. Kieran Hodgson is no exception, with a fixation that started in his youth, thanks to fodder like Home Alone, and continues to this day, with Hollywood the apogee for any entertainer’s career.

But of course that relationship is complicated and ever-changing, like the nation itself, a nuanced position the Two Doors Down star grapples with over this typically ambitious, always fascinating and consistently funny hour.

The confidence and optimism of the American psyche certainly appeals to a relatively meek middle-class kid from West Yorkshire. Hodgson is wowed by the showmanship of their elections in comparison with dreary old Keir Starmer. He’s inspired by the speeches of JFK, then disappointed with the more moronic leaders like George W. Bush. But he can’t bring himself to discuss the current occupant of the White House as he’s consumed far too much of the world’s attention already.

Is the orange-hued elephant in the room an aberration, or the logical conclusion for a nation that often takes pride in boorish ignorance? Hodgson wonders if the redneck mentality is more representative of the real America than the delightfully witty members of New York’s cultural elite he met at the opera as a youth. 

He was watching Wagner instead of going on a hedonistic spring break he’d first envisaged, which tells you all you need to know.  Hodgson weaponises his nerdishness, with many a charming, self-effacing quip about his mild-mannered ways seasoning his analytical story.

Indeed, a low-status story provides the backbone of the hour, as the four-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee gets a chance of the Hollywood success he covets, like contemporaries Nick Mohammed, Jamie Demetriou and Richard Gadd. He successfully auditions for a role in a DC superhero movie, but the film is the flop that was The Flash and he only has one scene, as ‘sandwich guy’. Even with such a minor part, the director comes to regrets his choice, unconvinced that Hodgson can convincingly play an American. 

It’s not down to the accent, for the comic excels at voices, bringing every character in this story to life and embarking on his own mission to Make Impersonations Great Again, with many funny vignettes across the hour, from Margaret Thatcher to his strait-laced English teacher father, who decried anything transatlantic as ‘American rubbish’.

No, it’s whether Hodgson can truly inhabit the character of an American, given he’s only really experienced the nation at a distance. Is he the thespian equivalent of the British-themed bar he visited in Oregon, which hilariously got everything just slightly wrong?

It seems unlikely given what a sharp-eyed observer the comedian is, but certainly proves an effective engine to drive his subtly contemplative and analytical stand-up, delivered with impressive performance skills and an enviable gag rate.

• Kieran ​Hodgson: Voice of America is at Soho Theatre until June 28 before heading to the Edinburgh Fringe in August and touring the UK in autumn. Kieran Hodgson tour dates.

Review date: 18 Jun 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Soho Theatre