RICH Hall will be picking up from where he left off when he holds his very own Hoedown at Kendal’s Brewery Arts Centre on Saturday (September 23), writes JOHN ANSON.

The lugubrious American comedian, much loved by British audiences, took a summer break from the tour.

“I started doing it just to have a chance to do a show that’s half stand up and half music,” he said.

“It’s music but it’s funny. I’m not just indulging my country and western fantasies.

“Honestly, it’s good - at least it was when I quit doing it in July,” he quipped.

In the hoedown section which ends the show, Rich gets out the guitar and improvises songs very much based on the audience.

“I have frameworks for songs so you might say they are semi improvised, as I know what I’m going to play, I just don’t know what I’m going to say. It is just a matter of finding willing victims to be part of the show.”

Rich has revealed his musical leanings through the BBC Four documentary Countrier Than You in which he explored the origins of country music. He also toured as Otis Lee Crenshaw, a Tennessee musician and jailbird.

“There is a musical framework for the show and there is a lot of interaction with the front row or even the second row,” he added.

Although he ends the show on a musical note, the first half is more straight stand-up in which his home country and the current incumbent of the White House invariably takes centre stage.

“If you are going to ask me if I talk about Trump, of course I am,” he said with a throaty chuckle. “There’s no shortage of material coming out of the US right now, it’s just a matter of collating it and putting into some order.”

I suggest that for comedians, President Trump is the gift that just keeps on giving.

“In the stock market of comedy the value of Trump goes up and down wildly on a daily basis," said Rich. "It’s not anything I would have wished but he is the topic of most conversations in America now.

“I’ve never seen my country so caught up in one subject so much.”

Rich divides his time between London and the States and during his break from the tour went back to his home in Montana.

“When I was back in the States that was something I wanted to look at - was it just a talking point or were people genuinely scared,” he said. “For the most part it seems Americans have just got on with their lives.

“They’ve got this annoying president who is like a crazy co-worker who won’t stop reading your emails over your shoulder. He’s always there and he’ll be there for another three years but life goes on anyway.

“What is interesting is how he has changed people’s political views.

“It used to be you identified yourself politically as either Republican or Democrat; now you either like Trump or you don’t."

Behind the acerbic comedy, Rich also has a sparkling intellect which has seen him much in-demand as a commentator on the political situation in America.

"Certain precedents that Trump has set aren't too bad," he said. "Maybe he has shown that a career politician is someone no longer to be trusted and that the rank outsider can approach the problems with fresh eyes.

"Unfortunately I just think there are far more capable outsiders to do it. But I don’t think they have the ego to be president.

"If you are good at something and enjoy it why would you trade that in to fight with politicians - the pay isn’t even that good.

"The only reason to do it is wake up every morning and go 'I’m the leader of the free world.'"

Rich then apologises for spending so long talking about the current state of the world.

“Don't worry, all of this will be condensed into some real comedy nuggets in the show.”

As well as touring, Rich is currently working on a new documentary on the decline of the American work ethic.

"It's basically about how Americans got fat and lazy," he said. "We should start filming next year and it'll hopefully be out in the summer."

Rich Hall's Hoedown starts at 7.45pm.

Brewery box office 01539-725133.

Rich Hall's Hoedown also plays The Forum, Barrow, on Friday, September 22 (8pm).