A retro hero for our time

NATALIE BANYARD talks to Australian-born, Bristol-based performer Sam Dugmore about the award-winning Manbo - a gloriously entertaining parody of iconic 80s action films

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STEP aside Sly Stallone! Sam Dugmore is locked and loaded as the greatest action hero of all time, unearthing his ruthless man skills to confront his nemesis... himself.

Nostalgic, witty, physically challenging, and wildly entertaining, Australian-born, Bristol-based performer Sam brings his award-winning one-man show Manbo to Tobacco Factory Theatres on June 29.

Manbo is the ultimate action hero and the greatest combat agent who ever lived. He's retired after a life of violence, but the Colonel has been taken hostage by the evil Russians, and Manbo is the only one who can save him...

Manbo sees Sam recreate his favourite adrenaline-pumping films from his childhood - with a twist. It's a magnificent send-up of the tropes and the toxic masculinity of 80s action films, but also an affectionate homage to the genre.

The high-octane show covers everything you'd expect: a gritty hero trying to adjust to life, a tragic incident in his past haunting him, being drawn back to a world of action, a nameless love interest and, of course, plenty of gunfire and epic explosions.

"That's right," Sam tells me. "Plus raw male emotion, singing, Russian villains, flexing of muscles, high levels of ridiculousness, helicopters, skydiving, 80s workout montages, mansplaining, audience interaction in the best possible way, world-class mime - and a little dog called Fluffy!"

The show has become a huge hit internationally, winning countless awards, including Edinburgh and Adelaide Fringe Awards, and hailed as a triumph by critics.

The reaction of theatre-goers is unfailingly wild and joyous, stoked up with bags of audience interaction and participation.