Well, the answer's simple, I suppose, if a little disappointing. It wasn't in fact 'THE' Bill Hicks, just 'A' Bill Hicks up there in the limelight at the Lawrence Batley Theatre. 'Bill' is actually English actor Chas Early who's currently on a one-man mission to make sure we don't forget the smoking, swearing genius who died of cancer twelve years ago just when it seemed he could've Made It Big. And it really COULD be Bill on stage. Chas Early has his mannerisms, his gurning, even the way he lights his cigs, down to a fine art. No mean feat in itself. But it's in the delivery that the true Hicks secret lies and, again, Early's 'Bill' is as close as you're going to get short of the miraculous resurrection of Hicks himself: from the manic pixie-like laughter to the angrily-shouted lines of political invective, this is more than just impersonation, it's a virtual carbon copy.
 | | Angelic: Chas Early aka 'Bill' |
Then, of course, there's the material itself. The real Bill Hicks was never one to pull punches when it came to...well...anything, really! And this 'Bill' is no different, though the material is all new - by Chas Early himself and co-writer Richard Hurst - it's given the full Hicks treament and could easily have come straight from the fevered mind of The Man Himself. From abortion to 9/11 and 7/7, from his hatred of Coldplay to his hatred of George Bush's 'War on Terrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr' AND 'fat, comfortable liberals' nobody is immune from his comedic riffs. And yet, this is no tirade of negativity. Much like the effect of listening to the original Hicks go about his business (still available if you look in the right places), you end up feeling good about life while still feeling bad about how things are too! It's a pretty special trick, let's face it. In other words, this is SERIOUS comedy. One thing that really emerges from the evening is that nothing ever changes! It's true. Look at the facts, as revealed by our 'Bill': George Bush in the Whitehouse, Iraq in the headlines, the 'special relationship' as strong as ever, cr*p bands in the charts making cr*p music. I repeat, nothing ever changes! With that in mind, it's good to see that 'Bill Hicks' is still up there strutting his stuff too! And if it takes an English actor who looks, sounds and acts surprisingly like the real thing to make that particular miracle to come to pass then so be it. After all, we need reminding of the stupidities of life from time-to-time because, as Bill proved, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. |
