David Hoyle's SOS

The tag line for David Hoyle's Soho Theatre show is "only angry people can't see beauty". Personally I disagree and think that there is a lot of beauty contained within anger, some of which informs aspects of the dialogue for the show. That's not to say it's one man and his rant, far from it, and we're not encouraged to get angry, but rather to laugh at life's little challenges and use that laughter to give us strength to carry on.

Partly autobiographical, David makes many references to his six year exile in Manchester since retiring his former incarnation, The Divine David. He sings, he dances and he constantly interacts with the audience. This face to face delivery gives him an almost evangelical quality, but the emphasis is on fun.

David claims he's bringing the seaside to Soho and, indeed, the show opens and closes with a kitsch 70s style dance troupe playing with a beach ball, like a Blackpool postcard come to life. His use of movement is hilarious and his self mocking wit is skillful and engaging.

Despite his enormous wisdom, David is always keen to deny being an intellectual. He loves Big Brother and his powers of observation are never more astute than when dissecting it. For example, he points out the arty, clever types who sneer at BB and worship Warhol are quick to turn their noses up when the archetypal Warholian project is beamed straight into their living rooms and made available on tap.

He claims Big Brother should go on forever and that he would be happy to play his part. I seems like the perfect platform for his sage-like persona. The Cult of David would be born.