A review of 1 Billion Songs Please!, Fringe 2023

Are there really one billion songs in David Hoare’s “1 Billion Songs Please!“?

No, but there are enough.

They are concise songs, however. It’s probably even wise to consider this something of a one-liner show with the one-liners set to music. If you do treat “1 Billion Songs Please!” as a musical one-liner gig, then David Hoare’s charismatic narration is a welcome bonus, as there is a story here.

Hoare’s show is a bit of a pep talk. Recently diagnosed with ADHD, David discusses how that’s caused him to re-evaluate life and people’s expectations.

What to expect

“1 Billion Songs Please!” is a one-person show, which is part of the charm. David is a talented performer who brings quick wit, empathy and a guitar to the stage.

Despite it being presumptuous of me to assume to know what David was trying to do, I’ll do just that.

David has re-evaluated life after his ADHD diagnosis, hopefully, finding a better place, and he now wants to pass that positivity and wisdom onto the audience.

There is audience participation. After analysing toilet behaviour, I found myself one of the few people left standing, but that was the most dramatic. For the most part, David uses audience participation for audience validation. He tries to show people that some of their quirks are valid, real and probably not exclusive to them.

I’m not sure it always worked, I’m not even sure the audience could always follow what was going on, but I liked it. It was wholesome and healthy while still being funny. There was a row of young adults in front of me; this was the chat and gig they could only benefit from hearing.

Splice short musical jokes, often surreal, into everything I’ve just written, and that’s, kinda, the show.

Vibe and Performance

It was baking hot in Hill Street Theatre, and if air conditioning was installed, I neither felt, saw, nor heard it. That’s not David’s fault. The Fringe team who take over the venue for the duration should do something about it.

On the plus side, the seat stacking is good, are the acoustics, so it’s easy to see and hear 1 billion songs.

David can sing. At least he can sing in short bursts; we rarely got more than that, so I cannot comment further.

He’s certainly funny. David has that magic combination of quick wit and observational insight. He’s both an in-the-moment comedian and a strategist laying plans and foreshadowing for the audience. Mind you; I think you’ll see many of the tricks and traps coming.

“1 Billion Songs Please!” is a performance that cuts through the soporific Hill Theatre heat.

Overall

Musical comedy seems to be what I’m doing the most this year in The Fringe. It wasn’t planned and just happened. Perhaps David Hoare’s wholesome if slightly rude gig underlines why my sneaky brain made that choice – tunes and gigs are a tremendous cheer-up combination.

Dress in layers and grab a tix to “1 Billion Songs Please!“. Your brain is likely to thank you for it.