The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Reginald just wants to talk
Stand-up comedian Reginald D Hunter will be doing some juggling when he brings his Bombe Shuffleur Tour to Aberdeen and Inverness.
But the TV and stage funny man will be keeping “volatile subjects” – which he calls bombs – not balls in the air.
Explaining the “bomb shuffling” idea further, he said: “There are people who drop bombs and there are people who throw bombs but there are also people who keep bombs from exploding.
“I consider myself a bomb shuffler because when you’re covering dangerous subject matter on stage, the trick is not to drop one.
“If you got 10 bombs going at one time then you’re doing good, if you can keep seven of them up in the air.
“I guess this title means something to me because I’m sick and tired of issues being difficult to talk about. It doesn’t matter what you feel about Brexit but it shouldn’t be this hard to talk about it.
“The same with trans rights – no matter where you stand on it, it should not be this hard for human beings, who have been talking to each other for centuries, to talk about.
“So I’m just going to be up there, dancing through these subjects.”
The three-time Perrier Award-nominee, who moved to the UK from the US more than 20 years ago, will also talk about death, politics and the pandemic. And he’s especially looking forward to returning to Aberdeen tonight.
“I love being in Aberdeen – there’s something I find really clean about Aberdeen,” said the comedian.
“Aberdeen almost feels like British Canada to me. The Aberdonian people I’ve met seem extremely genuine – it’s sort of that Canada thing.
“I’m yet to meet a Scottish person that I find to be dishonest. It’s like Scottish people are pathologically honest.
“It feels like the further north you go in Scotland, the more innocent Scotland gets.”
Embarking on the final week of his Bombe Shuffleur tour, Reginald says it’s ultimately going to be his “final exam” – to see how good his show is.
“Scotland is a great place to have my final exam,” said the veteran of QI, Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News for You and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
He also received widespread acclaim for two series for the BBC – Reginald D Hunter’s Songs of the Border and Reginald D Hunter’s Songs of the South, where he travelled through the southern US to explore its rich musical heritage.
Reginald plays Aberdeen Tivoli tonight and Inverness Ironworks tomorrow, then Dundee and Perth.