Musical comedian David Hoare might be considered the gateway drug from one liners to musical comedy. He is also determined to live longer. To 100, to be exact. So he’s been asking the experts – actual Centenarians! I wanted to know if this was just out of a deep-seated need to get a telegram from the King (but, as Hoare points out, ‘He won’t send that unless you ask for it!’), or if there’s something deeper behind his Fringe show, ‘How To Live To 100’.

Might music be the key to living longer?

I mean, I do discuss that in the show.

Excellent! What is it about musical comedy you like so much?

It’s me and a guitar and people often ask me. ‘Oh, could you do it without the guitar?’ and I was like, ‘If I wanted to just make myself less interesting, I guess!’ Otherwise, I’m just going to be a white man. I’m at least giving myself something slightly different. No but really, I love this properly and always have done. Part of what I do on stage is just do a bunch of short songs and just stand there waiting, just seeing how they’re responding to it, because… it’s over quite quickly… it’s a lot funnier.

Can you give us a preview title of one of your songs from this show?

There’s a lot of songs, a lot of very short songs… it’s like one-liner jokes as songs. I think from an influence standpoint, it’s like bridging the gap between Bill Bailey, Flight of the Conchords, David O’Doherty to Gary Delaney, Tim Vine, Milton Jones. That kind of thing.

The title is often the punchline… [but] I did a parody of Craig David’s ‘7 Days’, but I just changed every day to Monday. Looking for a drink on Monday, we were making love by Monday and on Monday and on Monday… The song is called ‘Efficiency’.

So is it more about staying young or living longer?

When I was younger it… just seemed to be the thing, and I think it’s just obviously a very well-rounded number and it kind of is a number that people actually get to. And then, you know, I’m in my late 30s now and it’s like, ‘Oh, people do not live to 100 very often!’ Then having encounters with people that do, it’s like, ‘What are they doing? What have they done that we haven’t?’ Last year, rather than going to the Fringe, I went to my girlfriend’s grandfather’s 100th Birthday party, started talking about it on stage and you could see from the audience reaction… they were laughing but also making notes at the same time.

What’s the best bit of advice you got outside of how to live longer?

My girlfriend’s grandpa was born in Switzerland, he’s Swiss and then he moved to America. So he moved to New York and was a doctor and he lives in Georgia now where it’s really hot. He went on this tirade about how dancing should always be sexual. A hundred-year-old man telling me and it was the day we arrived. I was just trying to make conversation!

What makes the Fringe special?

It’s a wonderful place. From a performing side, it basically combines my two favourite things of performing and bumping into people. It takes 20 minutes extra to get everywhere because you just go around a corner and there’s a bunch of people you know. And the whilst you’re talking to them, six other people can come up to you and chat. There is just so much entertainment happening at all times. It all in one place, you can jump around and see a bunch of different things. You can meet people you have never met before, discover acts you’ve never seen before.

What do you want your audiences to take away from your show?

I am gonna tell you how to live to 100. I am definitely gonna tell you that. Definitely.

Summarise your show in five words?

Living long through stupid songs. (Trust a musical comedian to make his rhyme!)

‘How To Live To 100’ is at Hoots @ Nicolson Square Nic 4 from Fri 7 to Mon 31 Aug 2026