Kevin Hart review: Why new show Acting My Age is his best material yet

The National

03-05-2025

'If you're lucky enough to make it to 50, 60, 70 or 80 – then you won.' Kevin Hart's reflection on age, shared during one of the show's unexpectedly poignant moments at Abu Dhabi's Etihad Arena on Friday, spoke not just to the quiet wisdom that comes with growing older, but to his endurance in a brutally competitive art form – where raw talent doesn't necessarily translate to longevity, and where the trajectory from sensation to staple is never guaranteed by endurance alone. Hart, 45, always had the talent. From his 2009 debut, I'm a Grown Little Man and 2010's hit follow-up Seriously Funny, the gifts were there to see: the underrated physicality, the timing, the cartoonish characters, and the endearing ability to inflect a charming vulnerability into all the brashness. But over time, Hart also became prey to the pitfalls that face many rising stars – namely, whether that winning material could evolve with age, and whether the sharpness might dull under the incessant demands that come with being a Hollywood commodity. Indeed, as the films racked up at the box office, subsequent stand-ups specials like 2013's Let Me Explain and 2016's What Now? felt bloated – the finer moments padded with long set-ups and unnecessary digressions. His last special, released in 2020 on Netflix and delivered from his living room during the pandemic, saw him adopt a more combative, defiant tone in response to cancel culture. It didn't suit him. The warmth central to his appeal was missing, and Hart seemed to veer out of his own lane and reaching for a version of Dave Chappelle. The irony here being that Chappelle admires Hart precisely for his personal material – a quality that felt absent here. Hart's latest show, Acting My Age and part of Abu Dhabi Comedy Season, feels like the course correction he needed. It is not a reinvention, but a refinement of what audiences have always loved, shaped by years of stage-earned experience. The 70-minute set is lean, well-structured, and packed with anecdotes – from the personal to the outright outlandish – delivered with fresh awareness and the confidence of an artist who knows what he wants to say. Hart has always been more comfortable focusing on life inside his own backyard, sketching a portrait of domesticity that feels relatable – from dysfunctional family members to the absurdities of middle age, and the creeping physical and mental wear and tear that comes with the clock ticking past 40. It's a canvas that suits him naturally, allowing him not only to sharply set the scene, but to inhabit his characters – from a combative elderly man in a wheelchair to a zany animal guide – with the kind of deftness that comes from years spent on the big screen. Where before these anecdotes could feel superfluous and eat up large chunks of his set, they're now often laced with reflections on growing up – from the brashness of youth and the confidence of being a Hollywood superstar to the physical decline, epitomised in a true story about severely injuring his legs during an impromptu race with a retired football player. Perhaps because these incidents feel more timely – both in terms of the material and Hart's age – he's never felt more present onstage, allowing some of the jokes to land with an unexpectedly poignancy. That's why Acting My Age is such a pleasure to watch. By not purely chasing laughs, Hart has never sounded more effortlessly funny. And when he's backed by an airtight concept, his craftsmanship and storytelling shine through. It also proves that, despite middle age and relatively creaky legs, Hart is still hitting his stride.