As he thrashed on to the stage wielding a glowing lightsabre and launched into The Geek National Anthem, Hayden Cohen began a very convincing 50-minute display. From eschewing Star Trek in favour of Star Wars, to a romantic ode to the skills of his mobile phone, Cohen was the archetypal geek.
The show balanced music with spoken word and poetry, all delivered well. Cohen has a surprisingly good singing voice, used to comedic and genuine merit, and is a talented musician, too. Attaching a mandolin to a kazoo and playing them simultaneously was genius, and his guitar-playing was comfortable. A wailing medley of sci-fi theme tunes played on a stylophone attached to a box labelled “In case of technological doom” and incorporating the themes from Red Dwarf and Dr Who was a hilarious highlight. A long story about a parallel universe commanded by Zark Muckerberg was slightly lost on the audience, and it’s likely some of the jokes were missed entirely, but not enough to cause a negative impact.
One of the most commendable parts of the show was his genuine and likeable personality, which lacks the egotistical and righteous nature of many actors performing this month. He was self-effacing, yet proud. It was impossible not to warm to him and the subtleties of the performance that made the show so believable. He seemingly subconsciously put his hand in his jeans pocket containing his smartphone every few minutes, just confirming its presence, and slid his glasses up his nose with a middle finger. Hayden Cohen is a very convincing geek and his age is now.
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