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Reginald D Hunter,
with Mark Maier, Alfie Brown, Darrin Rows
Monkey Business Comedy Night
O'Reilly's, Kentish Town, London
9 March 2007
Slightly frazzled after a long day filming with Trevor McDonald - (someone's gotta do it) - Reginald D Hunter opened with a disclaimer: he's "between sets", "just trying stuff out" etc. But his act was far from worn out.Offering thoughtful musings on everything from his favourite "fuck you movies" to Bridget Jones to women's self-oppression, Reg was political without being patronising.
He's been accused of deliberately pandering to a racist stereotype - one irate journalist even dubbed him "the black Bernard Manning" - but in fact he's twisting the idea on its head. What seemed to be a Holocaust jibe turned out to be an astute point about the Rwandan genocide; which, of course, has not officially earned the title of 'Holocaust'.
Sharp and professional even on no sleep, Reginald D was as ever, smart,
edgy and consummately cool.
Mark Maier was winging it tonight - aptly, at first, comparing
organic food to "baked avocado in weasel semen" - but before long
he started to wane. When a stand-up starts imitating a camp German with
a penchant for punctuality you know they're out of material. The best heckle
of the night came from Manuela the Singing Prostitute (the half time filler
act) who called him a "wedding organiser".
Alfie Brown, a foppish young fellow in a Ben Sherman shirt,
was a true delight. His act may have been a little unpolished, and he seemed
unable to leave the stage when his time was spent, but his delivery was
natural and his jokes were sharp. Definitely one to watch.
Between nervous giggles, Canadian jock Darrin Rows trotted
out a boring litany of poorly executed jokes about race, religion, gays,
homelessness, rape, oh, and kids. Yawn.
Mary Fitzgerald
