Comedy Festival 2018: Craig Hill’s naughty-boy humour sharp in Someone’s Gonna Get Kilt ★★★½

SEASONED Scotsman Craig Hill proves what a tireless entertainer he can be, delivering a night of raucous ad-libbing with an audience ever willing to take his bait.

YOU’VE gotta love it when a show is going so well the comedian, still in mid-stride, hits their time, says “oh f--- … do you mind if I keep on going?” and, with a resounding approval, carries on for another 15 minutes.

That’s how veteran Scottish livewire Craig Hill brought home his opening night to a packed house of about 140 people, and the audience was delighted.

Craig Hill in Someone's Gonna Get Kilt.

How delighted?

Precisely as delighted as it was when Hill literally bounced out on to the stage an hour earlier. Like a game show host on crack, his arms whirled like cargo-plane propellers as he danced across the stage, up into the crowd and back again.

LARRY DEAN: LURID SCOT’S HILARITY PACKS A PUNCH

ALISTAIR BARRIE: SATIRICAL STAB AT A CRAZY WORLD DELIVERS

After a quick greeting and the proclamation that anyone who didn’t know he was gay surely did now, Craig immediately began ad-libbing with the audience at breakneck speed, riffing off clothes, accents, hair, posture, all to raucous laughter.

Then gold came through the door as latecomers — a handsome young man with two attractive girls — walked across the stage.

Hill almost salivated. It was fish-in-a-barrel time, his volcanic mock-indignation sending people into hysterics as the latecomers gingerly took to their seats, way up the back.

But there was no hiding.

With that killer glint in his eye the interrogation began — Who are you? What are your names? What do you do? Where are you from? Why are you late? — with each response triggering an instant reaction.

Craig Hill in Someone's Gonna Get Kilt.

Sometimes half an answer would do before Hill took off. Just don’t keep him waiting, because he hates that. And, for goodness sake, don’t talk while he’s talking, because he hates that, too.

This was the hyper-kinetic tone for the evening and Hill never missed a beat as he bounced back and forth with people who took his bait with apparent relish.

With a towel at hand to dab the speckles of sweat from his gleaming trademark dome, Craig powered on tirelessly, occasionally leaning on set material about WiFi, musicals and phone messages, but always returning to the ad-libs.

COMEDY’S FINEST ADD EXTRA SHOWS

FERN BRADY: FORMER STRIPPER FINDS HER CALLING

It was great entertainment and impressive to behold as Hill flew by the seat of his kilt for a solid 70-minute set.

Yet Hill doesn’t take to the stage without a safety net.

Speaking with him after the show, Hill explained how he moved from doing set routines to improv a few years ago because he fell in love with the idea of each show being unique.

That said, he never goes on without a routine up his sleeve that has been thoroughly rehearsed. He’ll then test the waters and use it if people don’t respond.

If they do, he tosses it and dives into his ad-libs, head first.

And longtime fans can rest easy; Hill might have played with his form but he hasn’t messed with his love of naughty-boy humour, which is as cheeky as ever.

Craig Hill, Someone’s Gonna Get Kilt

Chapel off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St Prahran, until Sunday; The Famous Spiegeltent, Arts Centre Melbourne, Saturday

comedyfestival.com.au