Bec Hill @ Pleasance Dome
Fringe cult stalwart Bec Hill breaks new ground with a daring hour full of narrative twists and turns, taking the audience far beyond their expectations
Ostensibly, I'll Be Bec is Bec Hill casting an eye into the future and taking audience questions about her supposed trip through time. Despite confessing that she's "not an improviser", Hill eases into this role throughout the show and slowly turns it into something she's more comfortable with. Suffice to say, it's beyond any expectations set by the show's publicity material.
The jokes are expectedly strong, and those that aren't are played off through the charming and skilled delivery Hill’s fans have come to love; testament to the fact that she remains one of the most relentlessly optimistic comedians of the Fringe. While so many have realised the ease of making an audience in 2019 laugh at the nihilistic misery of it all, Hill joyously fights against this idea to make her audience laugh despite the world around them. As she demonstrates in this show, never has this been more necessary than now.
The only major drawback of I'll Be Bec is that it largely deprives the audience of Bec Hill at her most Bec Hill. Obfuscated behind characters and narrative, we don't get much of an opportunity to see the charismatic nerdiness that Hill excels in. However, this departure is an impressive one and the comic manages to craft a show of considerable emotional impact alongside some big laughs and genuine surprises.
Bec Hill: I'll Be Bec, Pleasance Dome (10 Dome), until 25 Aug, 5.40pm, £7-£10