Review: Reginald D Hunter at Ludlow Festival

Reg played to a packed house last night in the Big Top at the festival and had the audience roaring with laughter and cheering from the moment he stepped on stage.

The stand-up comedian, whose career in Britain really took off after three successive Perrier Award nominations at Edinburgh Festivals and frequent appearances on Have I Got News For You, took his audience on a rollercoaster ride of reminiscences, controversial views, home-spun philosophies and deep thoughts - but all of them hilariously funny.

Hunter, who hails from Georgia in the USA, has that gift possessed by all great stand-up comics - he makes it look as though he is making it up as he goes along, with no script to stick to.

The great Tommy Cooper had that, Morecambe and Wise had it and, in modern times, Eddie Izzard has it - but the truth is it is not that clear cut.

"People tend to polarise comedy into one thing or the other," the star told the Shropshire Star backstage.

"It is a mixture and you go with the flow."

The material may not have been aimed at younger fans but everyone in the all-seater venue was in tune with Reg and his Southern drawl and pronouncements on women, men, race, prejudice, perceptions of prejudice and, what he referred to as, fagotory.

The word was exemplified by bad press and, peculiarly, condemnation he had received from the Professional Footballers Association over his use of the world "n*****r" in peformances but the festival-goers got where he was coming from, even if the suits at Lancaster Gate did not.

Reg evidently loves Britain, a country which he confessed on stage had taught him a great deal, and he now spends about seven months of each year over here, to the delight of his army of adoring fans.

To recall the anecdotes and jokes is like trying to remember those of any great comedian - they just come in a blur and only a mere handful can be re-told the following day. All that can be said is he performance of more than an hour was one to be cherished by the "I was there" fans.

He said backstage: "This is the second time I have played Ludlow and the audiences are great.

"Every performer, whether they are a comic or a sciptwriter or a musician, writes for their audience.

"I had the same people coming to see me at the Edinburth Festival five or six years ago and it was like a lot of them were here tonight."

Reg's success was all the more marked because he had been preceeded by his comic tour partner, Pete Johansen.

Another North American import, Canadian Pete also had the audience rolling about with his take on life in England - and a fascination with bears.

Britain no longer has bears outside zoos but Pete was anxious to have them re-introduced, primarily to help with policing.

They would also do away with three British habits unknown in his homeland, he argued - discarding food rubbish in the streets and dogging were two, the third was too controversial for a family newspaper.

His act also received a rousing ovation from an appreciative crowd and showed Pete is a another top comic who deserves the national and international recognition he richly deserves.

All that on the same bill. Ludlow Festival is truly proving to be a highlight on the national entertainments calendar.

By Simon Hardy