Kieran Hodgson doping his way to the top

In 2003 a young, frail lad from West Yorkshire had only one idol, the great Lance Armstrong. Inspired by the serene, omnipotent cyclist come lying bastard, Kieran Hodgson is taking the world by storm with his completely honest, unadulterated, dope-free journey. Fun and easy-going, Hodgson’s set is smooth and simple, effortlessly offering his joyous accounts of cycling’s favourite bad guy.

The talk of the town since his lauded performance at the Edinburgh Fringe, Hodgson is the latest young comedian on the road to hitting it big. His brand of comedy isn’t wildly smart and his impressions aren’t hugely refined, but he offers a laid back, engaging set which is wonderfully easy watching. Oddly for a northerner, he sounds as southern as you can get, but that doesn’t hold back the endless quips on his homeland. Throwing in musical numbers and a cracking cameo from Opera, Hodgson has an eye for picking out the audience’s memorable Armstrong moments and he plays on it with ease, but not everyone is quite so tuned in.

The talk of the town since his lauded performance at the Edinburgh Fringe

It is funny how a figure like Armstrong has such a comic appeal - the jokes seem endless and continually hilarious. The aspirations of a young mountain biker and his uninspired stray into the world of rowing only leads back to a greater, more wonderful reminder of Armstrong’s honest ways. A moral tale Hodgson’s evening is not, but through all the satire it’s not too hard finding one. Yet, to use a term I never thought I would, Hodgson is missing his X-factor.

Although I had great fun, I get the feeling that Hodgson’s show just won’t satisfy our generation. Despite having grown up with an awareness of Armstrong, his story and his actions seem to mean more to people in their late twenties than us. A rubbish reason, I know, but the result is that for me Hodgson never hits the heights I was promised.