The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Reginald D Hunter
Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline, May 17; Albert Halls, Stirling, May 18
Like it or loathe it, the current US president is going to be on the minds and lips of socially-aware comedians for some time to come.
In particular, American stand-ups, such as Reginald D Hunter, are virtually duty bound to tackle the man who has succeeded in turning the White House into a circus ring and transformed political debate into grand farce.
“Trump is the elephant in the room, and you’ve got to say something about him,” says the comic, as he prepares to bring us his touring show, Some People v Reginald D Hunter.
“I’ll say I love him. Not since Martin Luther King have I loved someone so much.”
Ever the joker, Hunter moved from America’s Deep South to the UK in the late 90s and almost immediately made serious waves on the British comedy scene.
After receiving three Perrier Award nominations at the Edinburgh Fringe, he’s climbed the comedy ladder with national tours and been a regular TV face on the likes of 8 Out Of 10 Cats, QI and Have I Got News For You, as well as fronting his own BBC Two documentary series, Songs Of The South.
His forthright manner and no holds barred material has often rubbed audiences and critics up the wrong way.
One commentator who opined that Hunter was the “black Bernard Manning” had clearly confused talking about race with actual racism.
So, is he someone who courts controversy or stumbles into it unwittingly?
“All you have to do is tell the truth and uptight, middle-class white people will lose their minds,” Hunter insists.
“You don’t have to try to be controversial: just tell the truth.
“In fact, in terms of controversy, I’m a watered-down lightweight compared to some of my family and friends.”
While Hunter believes audiences should leave his new show with a more upbeat perspective on the world, he can’t help but feel mildly disillusioned about his fellow Americans choosing to cast their vote last November for a reality TV personality.
“When it happened, it took me two weeks just to get out of bed. I thought, ‘What’s the point of anything? The law? Sex? Jokes?’ It made me feel so down.
“Not because I was scared of his economic policies or his out-there views. No, I was scared by thinking, ‘What does this mean for humanity?’
“At this point, we thought we were pretty smart but if people can be so easily duped and pitted against each other, are we really any better than CroMagnon man?”