25/09/2016

Review: Rich Hall at Newcastle Tyne Theatre

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Sharp Rich Hall Is A Big Hit

Rich Hall

Newcastle Tyne Theatre & Opera House

Thursday 29^th September 2016

American Rich Hall has a deep understanding of the British sense of humour. We like comedy to be dry and unsentimental. A packed Tyne Theatre enjoyed the well observed wit about life on both sides of the Atlantic.

Rich opened up with an apparently honest view of the current political election campaign stateside – however he is not party political. Whenever he starts to talk about political figures, it is usually in the context of their country’s problems. His sharp satire gets frequent laughs from the appreciative audience. He plugged his upcoming BBC4 documentary on the presidential race and suggests that the unsuccessful candidates were an eye opener.

Later he would touch on British topics but only in context of how a number of films seemed to be based upon “Thatcher ruined our town”. Like the vast bulk of the show, which ran over 2 hours, it is based on sharp observation about our behaviours and attitudes.

He doesn’t over use the front row for comedic laughs. Instead he finds a little bit about some of them in order to create an improvised musical interlude on the guitar. His quickly thought up rhyming couplets frequently had the audience laughing. Whilst he admits not being a fan of social media or Ebay, he was able to create cutting, but not cruel, songs about both. In the second act he was joined by Rob Childs on the electric guitar. Memorable songs included retired greyhounds, why you don’t find love in a Wetherspoons and the deterioration of Bob Dylan’s live show. Each witty song was well received by the crowd.

The Tyne Theatre is well recognised as a great venue for comedy. The appreciative, well behaved audience knew their role in the performance.

Rich Hall is a really entertaining act that knows how to keep a British audience laughing. He doesn’t stick with any one topic or angle too long. The songs were just the right length to get the laughs before moving on. He has created a really entertaining show which we really enjoyed.

This review was written by Stephen Oliver the North East Theatre Guide – follow Stephen at @panic_c_button

Read the original North East Theatre Guide preview: http://nomorepanicbutton.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/preview-rich-hall-at-newcastle-tyne.html

Future comedy events at Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre & Opera House include:

The Boy with Tape on his Face is Tape Face