Paul Hilleard @ Monkey Barrel Comedy
Grogg is part stream-of-consciousness, part class dissection, and 100% Paul Hilleard
Grogg, the debut from BBC New Comedy Award Winner Paul Hilleard, is an alternative love letter to his hometown Pontypridd, in South Wales. Named after a mystical Welsh institution known as the Grogg Shop, home to hundreds of gnome-like bobblehead figurines of niche celebrities, Hilleard too has a mystical, niche quality to his comedy and stage presence.
His comedy combines stream-of-consciousness, almost stoner-like one-liners with a gentle storytelling soul and lots of potential. The hour is essentially split in three: the first third is crammed with unrelated, tightly-crafted gags to show his writing skill, the second backgrounds his home life growing up, and the final third details his move to Bristol, a new relationship and the complexities of dating in an open relationship.
When he switches into a South Welsh Valleys kitchen sink drama at one point, it’s excellent and comes as such a surprise, it leaves you hankering for a callback or two. We also see glimpses of physicality when he introduces us to the lucky hand gesture his Dad used to make him do whilst rubbing away at a scratchcard. There’s clearly an unexpected versatility to Hilleard, which it’d be great to see more of.
Grogg is quietly a meditation on class and social mobility shot through with whimsy and wonder, but doesn’t seem to hang together as a whole. Hilleard is clearly a skilled jokesmith who’d bring something special to any comedy lineup, but crafting a Fringe hour requires a little more work.
Paul Hilleard: Grogg, Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Studio), until 30 Aug, 10.40pm, £13.50/£11.50