
Hot Concrete: Too Hot (and Too Concretey) For TV
Edinburgh Fringe comedy review
There are things to admire in Henry Whaley and Charlie Billingham’s double act, but ultimately Hot Concrete feels too much like too many other things to stand out.
This spoof TV show purportedly marks the on-screen comeback of what was once one of Britain’s best-loved comedy duos, 30 years after what is obliquely referred to as ‘The Incident’.
However, the revelation of what’s built up to be a spooky happening is anticlimactic and predictable. A succubus called Edith also pops up a couple of times, but very little is made of her, making this key supernatural element feel half-hearted.
Until this is resolved, the pair explain their other projects (including a lot of TV shows with clunkily punning titles), introduce an incompetent police sketch artist and give a platform for a tech guru to showcase his mindreading technology.
You might have seen other comics do something similar to this latter skit, playing the audience’s supposed inner thoughts through the PA, and this is not a particularly funny version of the technique.
Speaking to things we’ve see before, the list of ‘Zorbing With Peter Ustinov’ type TV shows is straight out of Alan Partridge; the running joke about not understanding perspective straight out of Father Ted; and the descriptions of people departing this mortal plane as being ‘sucked off’ straight out of Ghosts. Even ‘The Incident’ is a weaker version of a recurring Mitchell And Webb sketch.
Although the pair have a scattering of funny lines and decent ideas of their own, including that police artist, too much feels like old ideas put through the blender and reheated.
Also, for a light entertainment parody, the pace is frustratingly slow. Aside from a high-energy pre-show warm-up the pair deliver a slightly-too-wordy script in a very chilled conversational style. They’re engaging in their unassuming way, but boast none of the pizzazz associated with the shiny-floor genre.
Given the pair show some promise in the sections that aren’t so blatantly derivative, one can only hope they find a voice of their own.
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Review date: 13 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at:
Gilded Balloon Patter House