Mr Henry Moss: Quadruple Thre4t

Australian comedian Henry Moss has brought his one hour show to Brighton after garnering much praise already in Sydney and London, and it’s clear to see why. This excellent one man performance is a fast paced tour de force, Moss seldom leaving the stage and only then to return as yet another character in this crash and burn descent set in the world of entertainment. It’s all about ego, eccentricity and excess and he delivers every element with both skill and style.

The work is carefully crafted, each trait easily identifiable as the central character plummets through his rapidly disintegrating life. And if all that sounds rather dark then don’t worry, because the whole is delivered with side achingly funny humour.

It’s also packed with song, pop anthems delivered in a variety of voices, Moss can not only sing well, he can imitate vocal genres, his Piaf is bizarrely captivating if only for a few bars. And unlike your average juke-box musical, the songs he chooses help to progress the sad but hilarious narrative.

He can dance too, spinning around the stage to illustrate the somewhat less than illustrious career of the central character. I thought maybe he was going a dance step too far when he claimed that he had stepped into the role of Cassie in A Chorus Line, but no, there he was doing the exact dance steps from that iconic moment of musical theatre.

With little more than a basic costume and a few well chosen accessories, spectacles, scarves,  and a table and chair, Mr Henry Moss takes you into his world of deluded celebrity and he does it with charm and talent. Certainly a name to watch!

Box Theatre, The Warren

29 May

Andrew Kay

Rating: