Rich Hall: Lugubrious transatlantic funnies
American stand-up Rich Hall must have something of a love affair with the UK. Having lived in London on and off for a number of years, as well as touring regularly across Britain and appearing on several TV shows on this side of the Atlantic, Hall clearly has an affiliation for the British way of thinking.
Much of the first half of this latest show revolved around happenings in his native country, especially responses to the mid-term elections and the tea party movement. The man from Virginia – famously the inspiration behind bartender Moe Szyslak from The Simpsons – was able to draw on the differences between British and American attitudes and ways of life to deftly humorous effect, all delivered with his instantly recognisable lugubrious drawl.
After a stint on Channel 4’s woeful Stand Up For the Week topical comedy strand during the summer, Hall is thankfully now back to touring up and down the country, although judging from some of his tales of life on the road there are certain parts of this island which make for more receptive audiences than others.
If the first half was high on ranting and amusingly grumpy observations, the second half of the show slowed down the pace with musical interventions and a much looser approach where Hall upped the audience interaction. Alternating between keyboard and guitar, he serendaded one audience member and made up songs about the lives of other people sat in the front row.
What remained most notable about Hall was his ability to seem polished and professional while at the same time laidback and ambling, with numerous pauses, remarks and mis-steps littered throughout his act to off-set the most overtly scripted parts of the show. He’s also incredibly gifted at working a room, though the Butterworth Hall stretched this ability to the limit, and his gruff and mumbling voice would often have seemed garbled and inaudible at times as he rattled through some quick-fire lines.
Nevertheless, his years of stand-up experience shone through and Hall’s skill at dealing with these impromptu moments made sure that there were plenty of laughs at every turn. He might not smile much himself, but Rich Hall sure knows how to get other people to do so.
