upfront
Reginald D. Hunter
David Griffiths talks to honest comic Reginald D. Hunter. pic: IDIL SUKAN
R
eginald D Hunter is late. “Don’t worry”, his publicist tells me, “he’s
probably just overrun with his previous interview – he’s hard to
stop once he gets going”. It’s easy to see why; Hunter is a thoughtful
interviewee with a voluble charm. For a man who has been doing
interviews all day, and who could easily fall back on rote answers, he considers
every question with an unjaded attitude and a thoroughness that reveal a man
who is using comedy as a vehicle to think about some of the deeper problems of
life.
Hunter‘s reputation for controversy precedes him. Most recently, he caused an
upset with a routine he performed at the Professional Footballers’ Association
awards. But he doesn’t see himself as a controversial comic. “I don’t go out
of my way to be controversial. It’s just a habit, where I come from, to speak
plainly. I’m often surprised when people find me controversial. But at the
same time I don’t get panicked or amazed by it because oftentimes people, in
those circumstances, they’re upset by words, and so, despite the alarm of their
emotions, you try to keep reality firmly in your sight, and you realise that if
you’re upset by a joke or a word that somebody used, your life is probably better
than you know.”
But does Hunter try to engage directly with people who disagree with him?
“You’d think that looking at it. You’d think ‘Wow! He likes the challenge of saying
difficult things and trying to sway people.’ In actuality I’m extremely lazy and
I don’t particularly like challenges unless I’m certain that it will be character-
“I’m often
surprised
when people
find me
controversial.”
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BUZZ 10
building. But the truth of the matter is I feel like I have to speak to that guy. I
won’t feel like I did my work if I didn’t try to at least phrase something to him
differently. It feels like an obligation.”
Throughout the interview the concept of authenticity crops up repeatedly. It’s
plain that Hunter sees comedy as a vocation that places an obligation on him to
be true to himself.
“In a world where so much is said, and so much is put into the ether if
you’re going to be trying to get people’s attention, then you want to be saying
something that’s worthwhile hearing. Or at least worthwhile disagreeing with.
The best you can do, you try to be as authentic as you understand the world
to be, and no matter what comes, and no matter what criticism is said, what
adulation you get, you can sleep at night knowing that you did the best you
could with what you understood at the time.”
While Reginald D Hunter is not always an easy comic, he is one of the best
comedians we have, and he’s certainly an essential one.
St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, Sat 5 Oct. Tickets: £23.
Info: 029 2087 8500 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk
Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot, Wed 23 Oct. Tickets: £20.
Info: 01639 763214 / www.nptartsandents.com
Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Thurs 24 Oct. Tickets: £10-£20.
Info: 01970 623232 / www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk