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Rich Hall

Stephen Munchenberg

"Hall is a brilliant comedian who had the crowd in stitches the whole time. He's also the world's best dad and has the coffee mug to prove it."

Donald Trump's presidency may not be good news for the world, but it sure is good news for comedy. That's Rich Hall's view and, while the comedian's Adelaide Fringe show didsn't focus totally on Trump, the 'combover-orangutan' was a rich source of material too good to go untapped. 

The-American-cum-Londoner has been a regular on the Australian comedy circuit for decades and is an Adelaide Fringe favourite. His appearances on TV shows such as Live At The Apollo and Stephen Fry's QI make him a must-see every time, and tonight he did not disappoint. His observational comedy seemed totally improvised and natural, but is probably well practised.

While Hall gently mocked our choice of breakfast in Australia ("it's Weet-Bix or it's nothing") and our shoe-repair/key-cutting shop combos, he was also happy to ridicule things closer to his own heart, including his British wife (wisely, from afar). She's apparently from Liverpool and in his native Montana her screeching voice attracts wildlife.

While he touched on topics that might seem mundane, it was his overall manner that made these stories - such as the sometimes-dreadful content on SBS television - hilarious. His recent encounter with post-Obamacare health care in the US resulted in an "out of money experience", we're told; a medical examination that saw him receive a $10,000 bill, jokingly turned tonight's show into a "kind of a charity event". Only occasionally did he drift into the realm of the uncomfortable (his comparison of the war in Syria to a Lionel Richie crowd could have backfired, but thankfully didn't).

Hall remains the master of improvised musical comedy. Those in the front row were playfully quizzed about their lives throughout the show. These snippets of details were cleverly interwoven through his act and tonight we heard songs about plumbers, vintage cars (a Vauxhall) and a serenade complete with backing vocals added by a consenting audience member.

Hall is a brilliant comedian who had the crowd in stitches the whole time. He's also the world's best dad and has the coffee mug to prove it.