Reginald D Hunter: '˜This is me putting some things to rest'

Comedian Reginald D Hunter. Picture: Jo Hale/Getty Images

Performing ‘Some People vs Reginald D Hunter’ to a packed house, a broken leg was no obstacle for delivering an arresting stand-up set tempered with an astute world view.

“I’m hoping this is the last of that kind of show that I do for a while,” he admits after the auditorium has cleared.

“After a while, you just get tired of yourself, so this is me putting some things to rest with some humour.

“I’ve got a busy year coming up and I just look forward to getting back to a more bouncy, fun, hateful comedy.”

After a well-received apology on behalf of America for the rollercoaster of US politics, he spent time reflecting on relationships with families both at home and on the road.

Brexit, the US Presidential race, ex-girlfriends and unlikely friends and a freshly ignited interest in UK politics keep the laughs flowing, but there was a definite sense that Reginald is drawing a line in preparation for life’s next challenge, whatever comes his way.

“I haven’t really been touring or working hard these last couple of years,” he said.

“I’ve been taking some time to get my mind right. I had a lot of grand ambitions for this Edinburgh [Festival] and whoosh… I broke my leg.

“But that’s in every Hollywood action hero story.”

The US-born comedian was born in the southern state of Georgia and recently starred in a BBC documentary called ‘Songs of the South’, but for the past 20 years he’s lived here in the UK.

We caught up with him after his late show on Monday night to talk about the change of pace, the evolution of an Fringe comedy set and - through a series of disjointed tangents - how his retrospective would have changed the course of Disney’s Star Wars franchise.

Some People vs Reginald D Hunter is on at Assembly Rooms on The Mound at 22.30 on August 10-14, 16-20 and 22-27.