Reginald D Hunter,

Wyvern Theatre, Swindon

SAY what you will about Reginald D Hunter but he is a man of his word.

The show came with a warning to those with a very sensitive nature: he was going to offend at least some, perhaps most of the audience. And so he did. A couple next to us refused to heed his warning and scampered off with smoke coming out their ears during the second half.

His prodding and picking (a gentle prodding really, considering how much havoc he could have wreaked with such a ‘blue’ audience) of the Conservatives’ policies clearly tipped them over the edge.

Politics aside, he proceeded to tickle our funny bone, regaling us with tales of the ‘talk’ his father gave him at the age of 15. Less talk, more graphic step-by-step roadmap of a woman’s intimate parts, it promised optimum results – enough anyway for his paramour to recommend him to her friends.

Racism of course featured top of the agenda. As a black child growing up in Georgia and fending off white people, red necks, crackers and hillbillies - there are unsuspected (for us anyway) declinations of whiteness in America each with their own racist etiquette.

At least, the British, among their many qualities, adopt a more moderate NIMBY approach to racism, which Mr Hunter did not fail to congratulate us on.

Having returned relatively recently from his homeland for a BBC documentary on music in the Deep South, he certainly had a lot to get off his chest. The experience stirred up some mixed emotions.

Reginald told us that being surrounded by a white, educated film crew proved a great civilizing tool, most of the time, despite the few mishaps caused by his BBC entourage and their limited understanding of gun-toting hillbillies’ entrenched thinking.

Racism dealt with, he moved on to the subject of women, friends, family, and athletes. No-one escaped unscathed; not Monica Lewinsky, nor Lance Armstrong and certainly not Oscar Pistorius.

When Reginald D Hunter runs the gamut of news that rocks our sense of ‘self worth and hope for the future’ he is nothing but thorough. Observational comedy after all requires a knack for ruthless and systematic debunking and he is certainly a masterful and riotous debunker.

Just don’t mention the taxman; you’ll never hear the end of it. - Marion Sauvehbois