Reginald D Hunter was a standout at the Comedy Gala. His six minutes on Oscar Pistorius were sharp, cutting and utterly hilarious.
In the UK, Hunter is a bit of a legend. He’s appeared on seemingly every TV panel show in existence, sitting there quietly until he suddenly sparks up, firing out insights that have people in hysterics.
He’s from the United States originally – born and bred in Georgia – but moved to the UK in his late 20s where he tried stand-up on a dare.
He was good, and so here we were on a Tuesday night, witnessing Hunter’s New Zealand debut. Coming on 10 minutes late, he was a beaming ray of enthusiasm, launching into a rant about how genuinely inspired he was by New Zealand’s peaceful environment and people.
From there it was a wild ride into his comedy that’s often been called “confrontational” and “controversial”.
Whether it was his easy-going, deep Georgian drawl, or the fact his comments were always in context and carefully worded, he was never offensive.
He was, at times, shocking. Race and rape never make for easy listening. But Hunter always has a point to make that seems to come from either a genuine place of caring, or logic.
For that reason, the comedy works and the laughs come thick and fast.
His Pistorius content is equally hilarious the second time around, and his ongoing questions about the lengths a friend will go to save your life will have you talking after the show.
At times things get surreal.
One of the most shocking shockers of a film (A Serbian Film) gets a mention, and there’s a five-minute recap of a macabre Chinese movie that has the room in total silence. The payoff gag is so quick and cheap the whole thing somehow works.
Again, the room is in stitches.
He asks for the house lights up at various times, chatting to the audience in order to make a point.
There’s nothing awkward and it’s all in good jest, apart from one woman apparently looking a little too sour.
He unleashes with a beaming grin, “Woman! You might not be judgemental… but you could sure do something about that look on your face!”
When several people got up to leave, it was a little unclear whether it was the content of the show, or the fact Reginald had hit time.
In fact at 8:25pm, he asked what the time was.
He seemed genuinely mystified by the fact he was almost 30 minutes over (in fairness, taking into account his late start, it was more like 15).
By that point, his show had reached a combination of hilarious and heartwarming, and he simply went on for a bit longer. Stories of his father and early life unfolded. And some more jokes.
I’m glad he pressed on. I don’t think he intended for the show to go in this direction, but it had.
He ended by apologising for not being up to scratch. For taking it slowly.
He needn’t have apologised.
He offered to personally refund anyone afterwards at the bar that wasn’t happy with his performance. He needn’t have.
Reginald D Hunter gave a hilarious, often thoughtful stand-up show.
It was an hour-and-a-half (perhaps refined to an hour, by the time you see it) well spent.
Reginald D Hunter is performing at Auckland’s Comedy Chamber April 29 – May 3 and at Wellington’s Hannah Playhouse May 7 – 10.
Comments are closed.