A couple of weeks ago, I was asked would I interview Rich Hall for local media. Who he? I asked. No, sorry I'm not interviewing a man I've never heard of. With hindsight I'm kicking myself. It would have been a great interview, "So, tell me, who are you?' would be my first question. (It was.. - ed)

I came to the Platform tonight to find out, and squeezed through the sold-out venue.

First up is Mike Wilmott who takes the stage to an applause usually reserved for a show's ending. He notes this with a "Thank you. Thank you for welcoming the complete stranger, the guy you've never heard of…'.

He's a big presence, wearing a suit that I guess he's been wearing for weeks. He's travelled in this suit, he's woken up drunk in this suit, and he'll be performing his appraisal of messed up relationships in this suit.

He's relaxed and casual and nervous as well. He speaks in a Tom Waits drawl with a slow and compelling charisma. He's story telling. He's a reporter, a commentator. He recounts what we already know and possibly disagree with and he shouldn't be funny but the room is howling. He's got us immediately. He's funnier than his stories because he's so likeable. He's got style and he's got charm and way too soon he's got to leave. He introduces us to the man we came to see.

I'm finding it difficult to write a review of Rich Hall's set. It's already been written. Tonight's set is built largely on last year's material, though this doesn't make it a dull set. I asked Rich after the show why so little new material? He says he prefers the performance to the writing. He can clearly deliver the set even if it is a set he's delivered a hundred times. He tells me he began his career in comedy as a street entertainer. I think this shoúws in his relationship with his audience, both he and Mike communicate without intimidation. Neither of them are anything less than respectful.

Both men deliver dark observations that we take comfort in laughing at. And that's funny. It's funny that the darkness can be the dressing of humour. Or is it the other way round? All in all it is clear that we're living in something fugazi and if someone doesn't make the joke how are we supposed to laugh about it? It's heavy and it's funny, and both men tonight lighten an uncomfortable load with their strange form of support.

Follow this link to last year's review for more.

Larry Jones

Photos by Satori

(You can meet Larry by visiting his record shop called
'Fairies Wear Boots' on Meeting House Lane, Lancaster.)