Strictly’s Hamza captivates his audience with humour, compelling storytelling, and infectious enthusiasm. This show is a lesson in making your own luck, and always trusting your guide ★★★★½

When Hamza Yassin enters the stage, he is instantly likeable — he has a boyish charm about him, admits that he is still nervous about performing, and maintains a cheerful expression of, how did I get here? for the first few minutes. I was very glad that I had spent my Saturday nights voting for him during Strictly 2022!

What follows however, is all about the wildlife. Hamza gives us an incredibly slick production, that does not rely too much on long VTs on the big screen, (as many similar shows fall foul to), and proves himself as an incredible orator, engaging with his sold-out audience in an intimate, yet globe spanning journey of his life growing up in Sudan, and career as a wildlife videographer.

For someone so excellent at presenting to us, it is hard to believe that Hamza never sought the limelight: his aspiration was to be Sir David Attenborough’s cameraman — the man behind the lens. Admirably, he grafted and pushed himself upon as many BBC professionals as possible, trying to get his foot in the door, until one day, a back injury meant that one man took up Hamza’s offer of using his rugby-player strength to carry the heavy camera equipment.

Possessing much more talent than brawn alone, Hamza’s talent for spotting was soon noticed and the rest is, as you say, history. This would have been the case until the pandemic hit, and Hamza’s location on the West Coast of Scotland, with a variety of wildlife on his doorstep thrust him into presenting his content. Despite battles with dyslexia and slight ADHD, over the years he has become a formidable presenter, a fresh face on our screens, whose genuine ability and enthusiasm, proves much more significant than the ability to memorise scripts.

In a family of doctors, pharmacists and dentists, Hamza was clearly the black sheep of the family for a while, but when you hear about Hamza’s passion, sacrifice and dedication to film wildlife as a career, you simply cannot envision him doing anything else. The prestigious family connections proved exceptionally useful when the BBC, urgently requiring a stand-in for a trip to Antarctica, required a last minute medical and dental certificate to allow Hamza to fly.

This show is full of extraordinary highlights from the natural world. There are copious near-misses, from scorpion stings, flooding caves to wild cat attacks that are narrowly missed, thanks to the many knowledgeable guides who Hamza thanks and introduces to us via astonishing photos on his tour. Some less sinister events, include Hamza accidentally showering himself and his North African-Rapunzel style dreads in litres of guano plumbed in to his travelling shower, ceremoniously requiring a trip back to the mainland for the sake of the crew.

Entertainment ★★★★☆ A natural at storytelling, and a glimpse into a life that is so different from our own, one is left contemplating the perks of escaping to a remote forest in a cold hideout for 18 hours a day, long after the curtain falls.

Star Power ★★★★☆ Hamza’s personality is richer in person, even more than the Hamza we see on screen. A vast majority of the audience came because they fell in love with him on Strictly, and may not have booked a wildlife talk otherwise. Hamza only makes a passing reference to this, and rejects all thoughts of further reality TV shows in the future. The focus was on his journey with nature, and the show was all the better for it!

Value ★★★★☆ All tickets at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury were priced at £37 across all levels. It’s worth it providing you’re sat in a good seat. We got out at 10.10pm including a 20 minute interval, so this was a developed show, and didn’t feel like a simple cash grab. Hardback books (signed) are sold for the initial RRP of £22 however, which will bump up the price of your night.