REVIEW: Johnny Hollywood (Dublin Fringe Festival)

Star rating: ★★★

When we were coming into the venue, we were welcomed with the soundtrack of the Minions, which to be honest made me doubt my life choices at that moment. I had no idea if this was the venue's choice or if it was already part of the show. When Johnny came on stage dressed as a Minion, all the puzzle pieces came together, it was very clever to introduce us to Minion music as part of the pre-show.

From the moment Johnny came on stage, he gave us his full energy. Made fun of the left wing, as no one was sitting there, immediately setting the audience into laughter and providing a great way to break the ice between the comedian and the audience.

The show involved audience interaction, which I'm not a big fan of, but for this show it was absolutely hilarious and gave me full belly laughs. Johnny was in search of finding the most evil person in the audience, so we had to tell him the most evil things we did in life. In the beginning, you saw the audience panicking, and the way Johnny played along and interacted with us was very strong, though it is definitely not for everyone. It was good to know we were allowed to make things up, too.

Hearing people making things up or telling the truth was a very strong part of the show, as it made us literally part of the show. Underneath it all was also a message that you can truly be who you are and you don't have to hide.

My only criticism is that he was sometimes literally screaming into the microphone, which was disturbing. Also, the show lacked a clear plot or story; and felt quite repetitive. instead, it relied literally on us as the main characters and Johnny interacting with it, and I didn't quite understand the link with "Hollywood" in the title of the show.

Despites that, If you want a good laugh, then you definitely need to see Johnny Spillane.

Johnny Hollywood was part of the Dublin Fringe Festival and was playing at Smock Alley Theatre.