Toby Hadoke: Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf: Comedy Festival Review

Toby Hadoke: Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf: Comedy Festival Review

Okay, okay I know what you're thinking.
A show with the words "Dr" and "Who" in the title is only going to be for the ggeky among you.
Well, I'm here to tell you you're wrong - and it's safe to head out from behind the sofa and down to Auckland's Herald Theatre.
Toby Hadoke's one man show - or as he calls it a "hymn of praise of Doctor Who" - can be enjoyed on two levels.
Firstly, as a stand alone, self mocking autobiographical show - and secondly, if you are a fan of the series which began on November 23, 1963, you'll understand some of the character references thrown in.
But Toby's fully aware that his passion for this show may not be all encompassing - so when quoting titles of episodes as part of his stories, he leans to the uninitiated part of the audience and includes them by semi-sarcastically explaining the thrust of the episode - eg when talking about the 60s epic, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Toby reveals to those who've never heard of it, that in this serial of the show, erm, Daleks invade Earth.
And it's this kind of welcoming, mocking attitude which leaves you with such a huge grin on your face.
Moths is heavily autobiographical, detailing Toby's teenage years and how his obsession and love of this show, helped him cope with family issues and feeling left out of some social circles.
However, Toby also has an excellent way of straddling the fanboy fervour which is prevalent in so many genres and turning it into something sarcastic, as well as something poignant.
He's quoted in our questionnaires as saying the show is "about growing up, being lost and finding yourself again" - and you can throw into that extrenmely funny.
Toby has an excellent take in acerbic and, at times, slightly self mockingly bitter one liners ("Life sucked all the tears from me") and you guess he was never the kid who fitted in at school - thanks mainly to parental- and sartorial - choices.
But where Toby does fit in in these days is by sharing the love he had for a show during his formative years - c'mon, admit it; we all had something when we were young which we couldn't bear to hear bad things about.
Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf is part memoir (Toby takes us back in time to quote parts of his diary - and those key interactions in his life co-incide with moments from the TV show), part stand up and downright hilarious.
Maybe there's just a little bit too much of myself which I recognised on stage during an hour of his company - but I guarantee the last two minutes when he talks about his son and how they bonded over the show which saw him socially outlawed will leave you with a tear in your eye.
For any parent, Moths is a reminder that your passions can be passed on (no matter how uncool they may have been) and for any fan of anything, it's an ode to holding a torch for something through thick and thin.

Oh, and there's also an appearance from a certain Time Lord which shows just how highly this stage show is appreciated.....make sure you see it before it disappears into the vortex.