Kieran Hodgson @ Voodoo Rooms, PBH Free Fringe

It’s Kieran Hodgson’s tenth year at the Edinburgh Festival, and after the runaway success of last year’s Lance, for this milestone performance he’s shifted his attention from the disgraced cyclist to someone who’s less of a household name.

Hodgson’s muse for Maestro is late Romantic composer Gustav Mahler, who once said “the symphony must be like the world. It must embrace everything.” It’s not the most accessible premise for a comedy show – something which Hodgson openly acknowledges, calling classical “music for dead or gay people” and poking fun at Classic FM’s limited playlist – but the talented Yorkshireman makes it work, using the structures and dynamics of Mahler’s music, and the ebb and flow of a symphony to parallel the highs and lows of our lives, and our own experiences.

The influence of Mahler is palpable, but he doesn’t loom over Maestro, this is all about Hodgson. Once again he shows himself to be a brilliant character comedian – there's a particularLY sublime Christophe Waltz impression. Hodgson paints a vivid picture of his school days, university days, and returns to a year abroad – the subject of 2014 show French Exchange – using his full range of expression to play every single member of the supporting cast with nuance and no shortage of skill.

The musical aspect of Maestro is crucial but manages to be important without depending on prior audience knowledge. What’s important is that Hodgson connects with and is inspired by Mahler. The important detail is the “involuntary emotional response” that Hodgson says comes from hearing a piece of music that speaks to you, and the implication is that falling in love is a different side of the same coin.

By the end of Hodgson’s recital, he’s told a compelling tale, and played almost an entire symphony. He foregoes the fourth movement, but there is a coda, and it’s spellbinding. Maestro is a rewarding show about love, truth and growing up.