Rich Hall – 50 cent words Review

Rich Hall – 50 cent words

‘It’s a book reading’ Hall explains to a slightly bemused audience. I thought I came here for stand-up. Rich Hall, it appears, is feeling a pang of ‘comedic pressure’ in his life, and finds it almost impossible not to laugh or make fun of places he visits. This is lucky for the audience however and Aberdeen is soon singled out for a brilliantly verbose ridiculing. Alabama taxi drivers, teaching soft-ball to the British and Las Vegas (the only place ‘where tumble weed will actually appear on stage’) are also considered. However Hall’s thoughts are often clunky when read out, and his well-crafted sentences are let down by fumbling readings. There is also a distinctly thrown together feel to the performance - most of the material being available in book form already. Hall does manage to display his natural gift for story telling and aptitude for words however. Yet he is usually more relaxed and engaging between readings, and it’s disappointing he relied so heavily on his books. While this is undeniably an interesting, intelligent and entertaining hour, it’s not always laugh out loud funny. Too much of the performance relies on written material, which when voiced, does not always have the same effect it would on paper.