Dr Hibbett - he of the eponymous and well-regarded Hibbert Method - has taken the "Sing Your Thesis" concept to a brand new level.
Who is Doctor Doom? I have only a passing interest in the increasingly convoluted Marvel Cinematic Universe, so I walked into this new comedy show with no idea. I assumed a baddie of some sort?
I left with, if not a university education on the subject, then a healthy appreciation for the character, the tropes he embodies, and what makes him Him. Hibbett's PhD (available in all good shops now) is about "Transmedia Characters"; those who appear in various media and yet are still recognisable.
For example, is the Buffy of Buffy The Vampire Slayer the movie the same Buffy of Buffy The Vampire Slayer the TV show? Or even Buffy the Video Game or audiobook? Different actors, different directors, different hairstyles, but somehow always ineffably Her. Hibbert, naturally, conveys his methodology via the medium of PowerPoint and acoustic guitar.
He's sort of like if Billy Bragg was more interested in pulp comic books than radical socialism. The songs are delightful and silly - it takes real skill to compressing some dense academic work into a series of toe-tapping comic songs.
Even better, all of Hibbett's data from his research is available as Open Access if you would like to check it for errors in multiverse continuity.
The show is touring round the UK - catch it if you can.
