Slayboy. He’s the superhero we all need – who slays our inner demons and saves us from ourselves. Slayboy is the alter-ego of comedian Teddy Hall – the part of him that takes his life’s ambitions from fantasy to reality by playing them out in front of us all, live on stage. Slayboy keeps Teddy accountable in quitting smoking and drinking, dealing with ADHD and phone addiction, trying to like his own body, plodding along in reading a full book, maintaining eye contact and ultimately facing the audience’s perception of his work – even if he has to hide behind sunnies or a foam sword to do it.
From the first moments, Teddy skillfully navigates the somewhat shy audience with his disarming warmth, empathy and easygoing banter. He immediately has us reflecting on our own inner demons – even if he can’t quite drag it out of us. Between demon-slaying tasks, shaped to combat his deepest insecurities over the course of the show, Teddy nimbly weaves between soulful anecdotes about his single mum that would make you say “aww”, to self deprecating reflections on drug-enhanced expeditions into… was it Berlin’s queer night clubs and bedrooms thereafter?
Actually, those end-of-club-night-chats is kind of what the show reminds me of. It’s not your run of the mill stand-up show and despite the objective of ‘slaying all his demons’ it doesn’t quite feel like one of those ‘grand claims’ contemporary comedy shows either. It really feels like a bare-all, confessional chat with a good mate at the end of a big night. The type of chat where you range from reliving the highs and lows of the night to opening up about all of the most crucial moments of your life so far which have led you to being everything that you are now – the good, the bad and the ugly – and which compels you to stand up, shake yourself free of your own invisible shackles and pump your fist in the air, committing to making a change for yourself (2am kebab in hand, of course).
In Teddy Hall’s insta bio, he says “at my core, I just really hope you like me”, and despite a somewhat reserved audience, I could see that everyone in that room didn’t just like Slayboy, they were rooting for him. I think Slayboy reminds us that, yeah it’s a bit glum but no one’s out there to save us but ourselves. So if you’re keen to get in touch with your own inner Slayboy, or if you just wanna watch a guy grapple with his own on stage, you can catch Teddy Hall at Ratas&Kohv on Thursday 28th August at 7pm and at Heldeke! on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th August at 9pm.
Author: Shannon Quinn
Actor / playwright / illustrator Aussie born, Eesti living. Insta: @shannons.cannon Website: www.shannonmakestheatre.com
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