TALK to any US comedian at the moment and one subject is impossible to avoid: US presidential candidate Donald J Trump.
Now that the ever-controversial Trump looks set to be the Republican nominee in the race for the White House, his supporters are confident that he can win against likely Democrat rival Hillary Clinton – but the Virginia-born and North Carolina-raised Rich Hall begs to differ.
“People come up to me all the time and ask if Trump can do it, but I promise you: he will not win,” he says. "There is a lot of gnashing of teeth about Trump, but it’s merely entertainment. He’s doing what he has to do to get attention. He is saying the most outrageous things and tapping into a collective sense of anger.
“Eventually he will come under the same scrutiny as everyone else. ‘So you want to build a giant wall along the border and make the Mexicans pay for it? How are you going to do that, then?’”
Hall has recently been back in his native country to make a documentary, How to Kill a President, for BBC Four, focussing on negative campaigning in the presidential race.
He will also return to BBC Radio 4 later in the year with Rich Hall’s (US Election) Breakdown. The only positive benefit of Trump, Hall believes, is that he has forced the other Republican candidates to actually say something substantial.
“If the people running had their way, no-one would be watching the campaign at all. But when Trump comes along, everyone has to react and talk about issues – and candidates hate that. God forbid that they have to talk about issues!”
Hall will be waxing comical on all manner of issues when he plays Armagh tonight, Newcastle in Co Down tomorrow and Strabane, Co Tyrone, on Saturday.
Regarded as one of the funniest comedians to come out of the US in recent times, Hall is known by many for his TV panel show appearances (particularly QI), for his country singer character Otis Lee Crenshaw, for fronting documentaries and as the inspiration for the voice of barkeep Moe in The Simpsons.
But stand-up is his first love and he’s delighted to be on the road again with his new show 3:10 to Humour.
“I love being on stage. I love the fact that when a live show is over, it’s gone. It's happened, and it will never happen like that again. It can’t be replicated. That’s a great magical moment.
“In every single show, there are always two or three moments where I’m thinking, ‘Wow, where did that come from?’ You’re constantly thinking on your feet.
“Once they realise you're not just trotting out your regular act, people think, ‘He’s made a real effort. He’s on our side, so we're on his side.’ Then you can take them anywhere. You want to reach the point where audiences say, ‘I’d like to see that guy again’.”
Hall has long been an acclaimed live act due to his straight-talking and acerbic comedy and has won both a Perrier (Edinburgh Comedy Festival) award and a Barry (Melbourne International Comedy Festival) award.
Other strings to his bow include writing for The David Letterman Show, for which he won two Emmys, and writing three books: Magnificent Bastards, I Blame Society and Things Snowball. A new live stand-up DVD, meanwhile, is due to be released later this year.
There should be a bit of music at his three Irish gigs and Hall has been known to write songs based on the town or area he’s playing in.
“I try to tap into what is happening locally and address that musically by writing an improvised song based on the town I’m in. Music works in my show because it connects with people on a very personal level. A custom-made song engages people. The magic is more important than the material. People really respond to that.”
And while his default facial expression is 'scowl’, Hall says a bit of anger is good in comedy.
“It’s always good to articulate anger. If you don’t, you’re merely preaching to the converted and asking, ‘Have you ever noticed?...' I like to do something custom-made every night, otherwise you would just be like a robot.”
He says he was happy to have started his 3:10 to Humour tour in the Scottish islands back in January and enjoyed “going to the nether regions of Scotland”.
“Every year I try to tour out-of-the-way places. Last year it was Norway. This year it is the Hebrides. I like to go to places where I’m not worried about competition from other comedians,” he laughs.
In terms of being a 'famous’ figure these days, he says entertaining people is the most important thing for him.
“I’m not a big showbiz hound. For me, being on stage is the most satisfying thing imaginable.”
:: Rich Hall brings his 3:10 To Humour show to the Market Place Theatre in Armagh tonight, St Mary’s Hall in Newcastle tomorrow and the Alley Theatre in Strabane on Saturday. He will also be at the Cat Laughs comedy festival in Kilkenny from June 3 to 5.
