EdFringe Review: Kieran Hodgson: Voice of America

There’s a saying we’ve all heard, “Do what you love.” With ‘Voice of America’, comedian and impressionist Kieran Hogdson appears to do just that. It’s hard to imagine someone so extravagantly faking a lifelong love of The United States of America, and his rich supply of personal anecdotes and gigantic stars & stripes backdrop suggests his professed adoration is entirely genuine.

“…and you’ll never work a day in your life”, so ends the saying, and if you come across a performer enjoying their show more than Kieran this year, I’d be amazed. This deep dive into his history with the U.S of A. and present feelings on the matter provides endless opportunities for his talents as both mimic, raconteur and observational comic.

The result is an engrossing and incredibly funny hour of highly accomplished comedy. One tale plucked from a car ride with his family involving mix tapes, Americana playlists, and J.R.R. Tolkien may well claim lives before the Fringe is over.

Ok, so his nostalgia for the States pre-Bush Jnr and Trump later is very much rose-coloured glasses stuff, but his enthusiasm is infectious. His admiration for JFK’s oratory shines through when he indulges in snippets of stump speech, as does his bemusement at the seemingly endless supply of ‘Bushisms’.

But ‘Voice of America’ isn’t just a show and tell. The spur to this show’s creation happened in 2020, when his parody of global TV hit, ‘The Crown’ went viral. Almost overnight, his dreams of making it big in America came within reach. He had a U.S. agent and an invite to audition for the next big superhero movie.

“…an engrossing, and incredibly funny hour of highly accomplished comedy.“

But you know what they also say? Be careful what you wish for.

There’s something quite magical about a talented mimic taking you down memory lane. They don’t just tell the story, they embody everybody in it, glowing with sentiment or repudiation (he promises to keep Trump out of things, but the lord of the Apprentices has other ideas.)

Whether he’s taking you back to his family home, railing against their WhatsApp arrangements, or on a youthful trip to America hoping for debauchery and finding Opera, it’s a joy. And, once again, it’s continually funny – his timing is first-rate. The continuing interjections of ‘The World’s Most Bisexual Woman’ are just one treat.

The show’s ending, however, is a divisive affair – and for my money, overlong and overdone. Is it good to see the rosey tint washed from his glasses? Of course…but…there’s such an excess of ‘demon’ Trump haunting the finale that it imbalances the show.

That is the one note I have for this show, which is otherwise a tour de force from and by this multi-talented, Scottish-resident, Yorkshireman.