Comedy’s proverbial ‘nice guy’ Adam Hill delivers a stand-up performance that is just as you’d expect: jovial, feel good and funny for all the right reasons. After living up to his reputation as the comedian who does his own introductions, Hills spent what seemed like the first 15 minutes of his show darting backwards and forwards up the Forum’s many stairs to greet audience members, reinforcing just how nice a guy he really is.

In fact, when an audience member, who was born in Australian and whose parents grew up in Australia, claimed she was Irish, much to the audience’s laughter and bemusement, Hills tried to stick up for her. Other comedians, such as the Wil Andersons of the comedy world, would have jumped at the chance to quite rightly rip her to shreds.

Once he got started, Hills delivered a loosely themed conventional stand-up routine packed with spot-on accents and endearing anecdotes told with bubbling enthusiasm. His show Joymonger is vaguely based on the idea that no-matter how strange, backward and nonsensical our society’its laws and peoples’seems at times, all you can do in the face of adversity (and stupidity) is grin and dance.
Hills is inarguably a talented comedian and storyteller whose charm shines on the Forum Theatre’s stunning stage. My only criticism is that his show is a little too nice and too safe. I would have liked to see Hills do a show that was a bit bolder and challenging.

Nevertheless, this is an endearing routine, and if you are after a no-fail, fluffy comic show, then Adam Hills is one safe bet.

Finished reading this article? You might also like:

• Adam Richard X
• Fabulous Adam Richard
• Adam Hills: Characterful