Rich Hall. 3.10 to Humour.

Rich Hall. 3.10 to Humour.
Part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Melbourne Town Hall, 9 – 19 April, 2015

Comedian Rich Hall, well known to Australian TV audiences from his frequent appearances trading quips with Stephen Fry on ABC’s QI, delivered an hour or so of very funny standup to a crowded basement at the Melbourne Town Hall at this year’s Comedy Festival.

Mr Hall hails from Montana, US and his thick accent, raspy voice and impeccable timing was used to good effect for everything from observations on Australian attitudes vs those of the Brits, to engaging with a couple of frequent hecklers in the audience, and even singing a few songs while accompanying himself on guitar.

While these clearly followed a predetermined template, Mr Hall was nevertheless able to tailor them on the fly to include references to said hecklers by ad libbing new lyrics. He also gave us a hilarious impression of the current state of Mr Bob Dylan’s harmonica playing, having brought one along for the occasion.

It was a late night crowd, with clearly a couple of audience members having overindulged earlier in the evening, hence the heckling. Mr Hall seemed to relish the opportunity to interact with these folk, along with the more restrained ones, such as an IT worker for whom he composed a song which memorably concluded “remember, the last word in shit is IT.” The language was frequently blue and the humour coarse, but always good-natured, allowing Mr Hall to get away with it. He performed with plenty of energy and gusto and the crowd loved him.

Alex Paige

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