★★★☆☆

Review by John Gibson. Venue 20. Assembly Rooms – Ballroom @ 21:10

I have wanted to see Reginald D. Hunter for as long as he has been a refreshingly glib, yet quietly disruptive presence on panel shows.  I chose to attend this gig – in one of the biggest venues – because he is one the rarest things at the Fringe; a POC performer who can critically evaluate identity politics.

Hunter does so through the lens of Philip Scofield, Megan Markle and the Prince Andrew paradox, gender pay-gaps and Hollywood’s belated attempts at addressing casting inequality.  These feels like newer material and the comedian admits as much towards the end of his set as the specificity of these barbs are a little hit-and-miss.

His approach to feminism is presented through a stark comparison between himself as aging lothario and Bill Cosby. Hunter explains that after decades of Cosby being an open-secret, the reason his crimes came to light were because ‘one of his own’ (a fellow comic – Hannibal Buress) called him out. Not ‘because he was a man’, but because he belonged to the same group.

When he returns to the fertile ground of being an American in Britain (the pivotal role of his father in his life and his newly acquired daughter) the laughs are bigger and harder. There is a long anecdote about re-uniting with a childhood friend experiencing a life crisis, but the extended set-up never culminates with a punchline.  Though the meandering and characterful build-up is good, this feels like he’s working through material that’s yet to blossom.

With a lesser talent these partial failures in the material would be detrimental to the whole, but the ease with which he performs and his collaboration with the audience carry him through comedically unscathed.  Over the intervening two decades Hunter has identified and carried along a substantial and loyal following, most of whom seemed to be present tonight.

The bit where he describes himself as ‘Uncle Fluffy’ and then speculating that this is what happened to Bill Cosby, is as controversial as he gets tonight. The entire set would have been more relevant and Fringe-worthy if there was more of this sort of critical discourse.