Mike Dorey
Welcome friends, our car has broken down outside an old and seemingly haunted house where we are greeted by David Hoskin: a masterful mime and physical storytelling comedian. Join him for an hour in which he breaks the boundaries of creepiness, absurdity, physicality and comedy; throws them all up into the air and sees where it all lands. It’s certainly not a performance I will be forgetting anytime soon.
I feel I must start by complimenting Hoskin himself. His elastic facial expressions and physicality is honestly mesmerising at times and fully immerses us in the absurdity of the production. Whilst I did wonder if the show was going to lean all the way into the realms of horror but was pleasantly surprised with the more light-hearted spooky approach to the performance. His use of the audience is hysterical and keeps the crowd on their toes as they wonder what on earth they’ll be asked to participate in next. He never crosses the line with this though, the biggest ask of an audience member is to make a bizarre sound effect, this strikes a good balance of engaging the crowd without it becoming annoying.
The show as a whole is a string of physical comedy sketches tied loosely together within the framing device of a haunted house. It has no story as such and certainly no definite conclusion but this matters little. It’s clear that this show is designed to be a disorientating and comedic romp, which it achieves to maximum effect. Perhaps it’s not for me personally, but I cannot fault David’s talent and dedication to this highly stylised and impressive approach to performance.
Recommended drink: Long Island Ice Tea, or anything strong that will amplify the surreal nature of the show.
Performances of David Hoskin: A Haunted House at Prague Fringe 2026 have now concluded.
Raynar Rogers
