The Voice of America is what British comic Kieran Hodgson promises it to be \u2013 tough, given the circumstances. But with his dexterous weaving of anecdotes, excellent impersonations, and genuine storytelling, it\u2019s an excellent evening of comedy, even if it doesn\u2019t quite rehabilitate the USA\u2019s troubled image.<\/p>\n
Suggesting Hodgson\u2019s main comedic success is one globally viral video (made up of some cracking impressions of The Crown season 4) is a very humble appraisal of what is actually a celebrated and successful comedy career. But this is where our story starts, with Hodgson able to land an American agent off this viral fame. It leads to the star-studded set of the DC superhero film and box office catastrophe The Flash, in which Hodgson lands the enviable role of Sandwich Man.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s here where Hodgson relays his waxing and waning relationship with America \u2013 his love for the country, its culture, media, and its ethos, which Hodgson finds is in constant battle with the country\u2019s actions and presidents, as well as his socialist Europhile parents who think most of its exports amount to \u2018American rubbish\u2019.<\/p>\n
On the set of The Flash, Kieran\u2019s reliable party trick of impressions is undercut by the lack of faith in his American accent. It\u2019s a symbol of his own building disenchantment with a culture he idolised so much \u2013 \u2018what happened, man?\u2019.<\/p>\n
Through his stories of growing up in the 90s as the intellectual son of two teachers, there are some wonderful punchlines and recurring jokes which show Hodgson to be utterly at ease. He covers everything from politics to a trip to the opera at New York\u2019s Met, to the playlists on family car rides, and more. There\u2019s no messy crowd work, and it\u2019s so well constructed that the audience is able to really resonate with this comic who perfects the classic self-deprecating British humour whilst simultaneously feeling relief at knowing each line is likely going to land. It\u2019s an impressive performance and an easy watch for the audience throughout.<\/p>\n
The standout laughs come from the impressions, Hodgson confessing to being the \u2018impressions guy\u2019 (his own words) \u2013 but luckily, it never becomes tiring. Not just because of the talent behind them, but the fact that they\u2019re beautifully interwoven in the story, and shrouded with intellect.<\/p>\n
We go from Keir Starmer\u2019s nasal voice to Margaret Thatcher at a 4-year-old\u2019s birthday party, to poignant recounts of JFK\u2019s best speeches. Hodgson embodies the American films he idolised like Independence Day and Home Alone, and gleefully recounts Bush-isms (the silly things George Bush mumbled in press conferences) \u2013 just a few of the excellent impressions interwoven into the set. Via impressions and pop-culture references, Hodgson takes us on a quest for the perfect American accent, and the very voice of America, too, as he bounces through decades of discontent and his disappointment.<\/p>\n
The resulting conclusion is funny and undercut with poignancy as the Donald Trump impression Hodgson has been dancing around produces the laughs, and also a bittersweet assessment of the world as it is.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just funny voices that have landed Hodgson on the Telegraph\u2019s \u201850 Funniest Comedians of the 21st Century\u2019 list. It\u2019s clear Hodgson has a story to tell, and no doubt the continuing run at Edinburgh Fringe 2025 will allow people to come and listen and marvel at this clever comic.<\/p>\n
Runs until 28 June 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n The Reviews Hub Score <\/p>\n Dextrous weaving of anecdotes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Voice of America is what British comic Kieran Hodgson promises it to be \u2013 tough, given the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,2197,393,4884,80465,257,6080,30584,16,15,80466],"class_list":{"0":"post-198756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-comedy","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-kieran-hodgson","13":"tag-london","14":"tag-review","15":"tag-soho-theatre","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-voice-of-america"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114713438720706196","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}