Rich Hall and Otis Lee Crenshaw (****1/2) until Sat, Mar 21, 2009

March 15, 2009

Rich Hall is an Adelaide Fringe legend. And he keeps getting better with age.

His opening segment as Rich Hall is pure stand up gold. Yes, I am gushing a bit as I write this, but he is just so damned good it is hard to sound neutral.

Rich happily pokes fun at our habits and insular media (read “The Advertiser”) and then pokes fun at his own country, the US of A.

He barks and snarls his lines, wanders off the cuff, and prepares us for his alter ego, Otis Lee Crenshaw.

Otis, appearing courtesy of the Australian/US Prisoner Exchange program, and his band walk us through quirky, faux-chauvanistic, redneck-flavoured ditties in the guise of a country and western band.

We learn how to compare women to musical instruments, the dangers of Bundaberg Rum, and the subtlties of breaking up.

It is raucous, rough and razor sharp. It is Rich Hall. The safest spend of your Fringe budget.