The standup and author on American-British rants, why Saturday Night Live wouldn’t work in the UK and the joy of offending Winnebago owners
Your current show is called Shot from Cannons. What is it about?
The first half is grampa throwing slippers at the TV. Angry American-British-centric rants. It’s an attempt to explain to Brits that they don’t really have any problems compared with what’s going on in America. This is pantomime. America is on the edge of the apocalypse. Britain is this ongoing shuffling of weird ghoulish political figures who are around for a while and then … next! They move on and somebody else comes out on stage. The second half of the show is very improvisational and very musical. It’s my favourite part and it’s way more interactive with the audience.
What’s your process for writing new material?
Audiences like to think you turn on this tap and it all pours out. But it’s really just a heightened awareness of news, human activity, small contradictions, and big contradictions in life. If I have an idea, I’ll sit down and try to flesh it out, but I have to have the idea first. I can’t just sit there and stare at that screen until something funny happens. It doesn’t work like that.
Rich Hall: Shot from Cannons is currently on tour. His new book Nailing It is out now from Quercus Books.
