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"There are numerous points in Rich Hall&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;Hoedown&amp;#039; where the grouchy American star freely admits that he has no idea what he&amp;#039;s doing. His uncertainty even extends to the concept of the show itself - after all, how is country music going to work in a basement in Soho? Thankfully for the promoters, the songs - which touch on subjects from Border Collies to Bob Dylan sucking - go down well. They&amp;#039;re funny enough to keep music snobs from snorting, while still sounding authentic. Musical comedy can have a certain &amp;#039;try-hard&amp;#039; feel to it, but in the case of Rich and his band it&amp;#039;s not &amp;#039;here&amp;#039;s a funny idea for a song&amp;#039;, but &amp;#039;here&amp;#039;s a song with a funny idea in it&amp;#039;.  So yes, the folks behind the &amp;#039;Hoedown&amp;#039; can breathe easily knowing the risk paid off. Rich himself probably didn&amp;#039;t even care in the first place. Little smiles break out every now and again while he&amp;#039;s on stage, betraying his cranky persona and flagging up just how appreciative he is of the chance to play something that he loves.  He is clearly passionate about the music, but the delivery, well... not so much. This is not a slick show. There is no structure and little substance. It&amp;#039;s just, &amp;#039;Let&amp;#039;s talk s**t, now we&amp;#039;ll play some s**t&amp;#039;, beer drunk liberally throughout.  But even though the show is frequently a mess, and Rich is usually either losing his train of thought mid-song or cocking an eyebrow at the nonsensical things shouted out by the bizarre audience at the Soho Theatre (seriously, it had to be a full moon on Monday night), it was never a disaster.   We&amp;#039;re putting this down to us being lulled somewhat by the country vibe. Almost from the off, you&amp;#039;re transported to the Deep South, where there&amp;#039;s no need to rush. In the South it&amp;#039;s far too hot to get all angered up over a comedian&amp;#039;s lack of urgency. Rich&amp;#039;s nonchalance is infectious. At one point, the star repeatedly uses the word &amp;#039;midget&amp;#039; in an anecdote about angering Warwick Davis by repeatedly using the word &amp;#039;midget&amp;#039;. It&amp;#039;s subject matter that could offend plenty of people, but Rich clearly cares so little about what anyone thinks that there&amp;#039;s no point kicking up a fuss. That&amp;#039;s not to say he&amp;#039;s rude and shocking the whole way through &amp;#039;Hoedown&amp;#039;. Far from it. Rich is endearingly grizzled, gruff but not grumpy, just as he&amp;#039;s always been. Audience members do get singled out, but he only wants to get to know his &amp;#039;victims&amp;#039;, not bully them. At most they&amp;#039;ll get a gentle ribbing, and Rich is always courteous as he addresses him.  In fact this is one of the few shows where you want to be picked on, because you just might get a cool song sung about you. Rich&amp;#039;s improvised odes to the social housing co-ordinator and the engineering maintenance man in the Soho Theatre audience were, surprisingly for such dull subject matter, the funniest songs of the night thanks to the thrill of spontaneity. That Rich keeps the songs going, and turns the moments where his mind goes blank into something with comedy value, is mighty impressive. You might not convert to country music by the end of &amp;#039;Hoedown&amp;#039;, but chances are you&amp;#039;ll appreciate Rich&amp;#039;s bold attempt to do something new. Seriously, go, and make sure you go in the front row.   Rich Hall plays at the Soho Theatre until June 21. Buy tickets here. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/comedy/review/a576776/rich-halls-comedy-hoedown-does-country-work-in-a-soho-basement/>