Jimmy Hogg's solo show at Fringe is a breathless, commanding hour
The Toronto comedian fills Geneva Hall with tight storytelling and impeccable timing in Jimmy Hogg: Mashed, running through June 28 at the Ottawa Fringe Festival.
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Five minutes before opening night, as Prince played in the background, Jimmy Hogg wandered the perimeter of Geneva Hall methodically turning off light switches one by one. After ensuring the room was sufficiently darkened, he found the stage light, switched it off, then took the stage — changing the energy immediately.
The stage held just a chair and high table for his coffee mug, yet Hogg used every inch of it in this commanding performance. In a bellowing voice, he launched into a spell-binding hour-long diatribe that bounds across the stage, beginning with a story about hitchhiking across England at 19 to visit his girlfriend, then spiralling into a feverish, circuitous sprint through his mind.
Hogg is charming and clever, linking references and callbacks like the professional raconteur he is. A natural storyteller, he never misses a clarifying detail, a raised eyebrow, or a pregnant pause for effect. His timing is impeccable, and he responds immediately to the audience, feeding off the loudest laughers and latecomers, working them into the fabric of his tales.
The show carries content warnings, yet it delivers as surprisingly clean — no profanity and very little mature subject matter. The themes are universal: Hogg portraying himself as the Everyman eternally chasing the essence of being cool, sometimes figuring it out.
Jimmy Hogg: Mashed plays at Geneva Hall at Knox Presbyterian until June 28. Tickets are $14 plus service fees, available online, at the Fringe box office (67 Nicholas Street), and at satellite locations (3rd floor, Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue; La Nouvelle Scène, 333 King Edward Avenue).