Christopher Hall is probably known to most ticket-holders as a social media comedy sensation, and it would be easy to have moderate expectations here since many a TikTok-turned-comedian can often yield disappointing live results. ‘Self Helpless‘ bucks this trend.
Immediately, Hall is a complete natural at building a rapport with the sold-out crowd. He bonds with us, picking out some individuals, not to poke fun at, but to find out a little more about them for some future callbacks, and reads the temperature of the audience well – in this instance, the room is eager and up for anything. As the title of the show implies, the overarching themes at play are therapy, self-care, anxiety and fears. It’s very much focused on the millennial experience and manages to be both relatable and hilarious.
Hall covers various areas including coming out and childhood pop culture passions (and aversions such as dreaded indie music and sports) as well as more recent events: fears about peeing on planes and ordering coffee in front of strangers as well as a relapse into smoking. In his gregarious delivery there are definite hints of French and Saunders with the energy of Sean Hayes‘ exaggerated physical comedy. It works perfectly and Hall is constantly in command of his stage, never missing a punchline.
The result is joyous. Hall seems to have boundless stamina and is engaging throughout, with the audience cackling from beginning to end, closing with raucous applause. Perhaps all the self help is paying off.
‘Self Helpless’ runs until Sun 27 Aug 2023 at Just The Tonic at The Caves – Just Out of the Box at 20:40