Rich Hall
Huntingdon Hall, Worcester 8th November 2024
“Shot from Cannons”
It was a notably warm welcome which greeted us as we stepped into the Huntingdon Hall box office on that cold November evening. It is from a cold perspective that my memory of my ill-judged experiment as a stand-up comedian in 2013 is remembered…
Rich Hall, writer, broadcaster and commentator is more than qualified to call himself a stand-up comedian. As by his own simple criteria, “he can make people laugh.” Montana’s greatest comedic export is also qualified in Avalanche Search & Rescue (sic). Principally though the seemingly gruff, yet, twinkle-eyed jester is known for his highly original comedy.
On the night, Hall rescued us from a cold & grey autumnal evening with a “nailed on” show of exquisite timing, gravelly asides, flashes of political lucidity and sketches of human nature that were just damn-well-laugh-out-loud-funny. When the stewards are braying with heads-back delight at the real-life story about Trump, “domestic pets being eaten” and his neighbour worrying about the contents of his frozen TV dinner: then you know you don’t have to prove your credentials.
Comfortingly, I no longer wake-up at 3am – distressed and anxious – as I try to prove myself to a stone-faced audience staring back at me, as I grimly hold on to my microphone.
Richard Hall, is clearly comfortable on stage and the fourth wall does not intimidate. Rather, the audience inspires his comedy routines. A Venn diagram compiled of Brit’s and Yank’s eccentricities would be an intriguing one. Stats, data and hard evidence in the form of humour is bloody obvious when analysed by Hall. The routine about British protesters throwing orange paint over Dutch Masters – to make a point – and thus missing out the middle part…meant even the most cynical in the room could see the funny side. Above all, Hall I believe is curious about people.
As is tradition, Rich Hall pointedly engages with the audience for the second part of the evening; for the next 60 minutes is given over to rejoicing in the musical genre that is Country and Western. Armed with his guitar, an arsenal of ideas and song-templates the comic arranges us around his metaphoric campfire. Onlooker’s names, home towns, back stories and relationships are included in the songs that exhibit the comic’s well-rehearsed spontaneity. Mike who has just retired provoked a ditty about doing nothing; the line about Mike “playing tambourine in the rock and roll band of life,” meant the room rattled with much mirth. The husband who worked in “bearings” was subjected to his bedroom antics being exposed in front of his son; the final line about “a can of WD40” lubricated the squeals of laughter.
Of course, I can’t outline the concluding anecdote set in Montgomery, Alabama but the tale of Rusty the security guard, a humble request for Lynyrd Skynyrd and gun shots ringing out, caused an avalanche of unconditional laughter. No one needed to be stretchered out as such but Rich Hall was on hand to help – as he is more than qualified. This was abundantly clear, as a crowd gathered around the comedian at the end of the show to look him in the eye and offer their approbation.
After my inaugural, open-mic “show” I crept out as others averted their gaze as if suffering from snow-blindness. Richard Hall makes stand-up look easy and believe me the art form is anything but easy!
By: The Swilgate Scuttler
Ps For Maggie and Terry, for choosing their own path on 6th November 2024. Congratulations.