Review: Reginald D Hunter, Baby Blue

Braving hayfever of previously unforeseen levels, I moseyed out for my date with destiny. Or a bloke called Reg.

Last week's gig was, as I've explained elsewhere, the fourth time I've made an attempt to see this man live, and it was good stuff - a nice, laidback, confident effort in a decent setting that saw him trying out new material alongside some of the best bits from his 2008/9 show No Country for Grown Men.

So it was kind of experimental, but it worked just fine, beginning with a missive about what polite society calls "the 'n' word" - which is always dodgy territory amidst an audience of repressed white people. Okay to laugh 'cos Reg is? Giggling out of shock? Being made to feel uncomfortable? Just plain racist? Who knows.

But there's nothing if not food for thought in Hunter's shows (a couple of years ago his promotional posters for his show Pride and Predjudice and N----- were banned on the Tube). And it's not even a matter of shock value - he's too relaxed to bother with that kind of tactic, and himself admits the word has little bearing on him.

So, happy in the knowledge he's happy, we settle down, although you've got to wonder how relevant that kind of segment really is to a bunch of pasty northerners, even if we do watch too much of The Wire.

It's a short set, less than an hour by my watch, but his storytelling skills tap a rich vein. His matter-of-factness twinned with that incredibly alluring Southern drawl mean you can't help but listen.

Highlights included Reg recalling five years living in Birmingham ("people would say all kinds to me. 'You look like Lenny Henry'... 'Are you Lenny Henry'....") and a lengthy piece about getting to know his dad that was well worth the pay off.

With that, the evening kind of came to its logical conclusion. Perhaps it was a shade too short, but on the other hand there was no filler either. Quality all the way, and it will be good to see him come back in future when this year's show has shaped up properly.