You may expect Theo Wethered’s Hippo Concerto (a stand-up show) to conform to its eponymous identification of stand-up comedy. However, while this is a key tenet to the show, Wethered himself is quick to dismiss this during his performance. His show takes on many different guises: physical comedy, improvised interactions with audiences, and even magic. It is these different guises which redeem the inconsistent stand-up central to the show.

At times, the show felt like it was lacking direction, with some segments acting as transitions as opposed to contributing to the show's overall dynamic. Theo Wethered showed glimpses of his promises on his stand-up début, his piece about the ability of babies to balance the most noteworthy, but the potential of many of the recurring jokes, including the follow-ups to the aforementioned joke, felt forced. The attempts to tie together the various threads, such as interactions with Guy, the family-friend tech guy, and cocaine-pumped rats, fell short of its potential.   

Theo Wethered is himself charming, and many of the finest moments actually arose from his responses to his own mistakes (a slip-up conflating abortion and adoption was of particular note) or from audience interaction; in moments like these, his past Footlights experience becomes much clearer.  There are many moments when Theo seemed to deviate from his script, and when he had to think on his feet, and these felt much more authentic, and luckily, this shouldn’t be unique to the first night alone as the structure of the show accommodates audience interaction and Theo’s own ramblings.

The set-plays of the show, what primarily distinguish it from the label of ‘stand-up comedy’, were among Theo’s finest moments, in particular his flirtation with magic and the denouement , which, unlike many of the other finales to the recurring jokes, provided the play with a cohesive and humorous ending with some smart sound and lighting. Overall, it seems that Hippo Concerto was best when Theo was unfettered; the script had some strong moments, but the real highlights came when Theo had to think on his feet.

Hippo Concerto by Theo Wethered will be showing at 9:30pm, Wed 7th October, at the Corpus Playroom.