The beast inside me wants to move!' The smart, slapstick world of Audrey Hobert, the Steve Martin of pop

"Those glasses are not flattering, says Hobert. Having matching hair under the giant plastic nose, she says, makes it more flattering. In a few hours, Hobert will start her set standing on a ladder that is concealed by the coat, wearing the glasses, miming on a prop banjo and singing a peppy song about charming strangers called I Like to Touch People."

"Despite the changeover being entirely visible, the lights come back up as if to say Hey presto! the trompe l'oeil of high-budget pop stagecraft remade as slapstick. Steve Martin walked away from standup in 1981, but the wild and crazy guy's spirit is alive in an admiring US songwriter born in 1999."

"I just wanna amuse people, says Hobert, taking the sofa, a live wire of delight and total focus in a pink T-shirt, vintage brown coat and dregs of nail varnish. The jokey presentation the long coat suggests the classic three kids pretending to be an adult gag might suggest this is just a lark."

Audrey Hobert, a 27-year-old pop star, incorporates theatrical comedy into her live performances, using oversized trenchcoats, prop banjos, and Groucho Marx glasses as part of her stage act. Her approach channels the spirit of Steve Martin's absurdist comedy, transforming high-budget pop stagecraft into slapstick entertainment. Hobert's music career began unexpectedly when she moved in with childhood friend and pop superstar Gracie Abrams. Their spontaneous songwriting collaboration contributed six songs to Abrams' platinum-certified album The Secret of Us. Hobert describes the experience as kismet and the best time of her life, emphasizing her primary goal of amusing audiences through her performances.

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