At one point during tonight’s introduction Reg talks about just how long he has lived in Britain and how many years he has been coming to the festival – this got me to thinking. The first Reginald D Hunter show that I ever saw was White Woman and that means that I have now seen every Reginald D Hunter show for… Seventeen years! 

The reason that I have done this is not because I have some sort of stalking issue, it is because he has consistently been one of the finest clowns that I have ever had the pleasure to watch perform live.

This year’s show is once again thought provoking – In fact it is probably now considered a tired analogy to suggest that this clowns performances could almost be lectures on society and culture, but that doesn’t make the analogy any less true.

Reg spends much of this show talking about his current relationship with both his father and older sister, you can feel the love that he has for them but, as it’s family, that love is often stretched. More recent additions to the routines include his daughter and current partner – it is with these two people that Reg’s willingness to speak his truth is most intriguing as they are both relationships where there is a far greater propensity for him to, well… Fuck up.  

As always this clown builds a casual and easy rapport with his crowd, the flow is smooth and the laughter continuous. We are sat in hot packed-out room and yet time flies, literally, because we are having fun.

This clown is one of two that I consider an absolute banker on any given night and within any possible venue. And as he closes the show by hoping for twenty more years of Fringe shows I can only confess that I hope to be there for all of them.

Clown Stars: * * * * *

 @Pleasance, Edinburgh

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