Jon Richardson: Interview

Jon Richardson: Interview

16 November, 2009
by: Emma

There might have been one or two surprise nominations for the Edinburgh Comedy Award this year but Jon Richardson wasn't one of them. Having dropped out of university in 2002, his stand-up career has gone from strength to strength. After a 60-date national tour with Alan Carr in 2006, his debut solo show earned him a 'Best Newcomer' nomination at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival. His musings and anecdotes about life as a misanthropic perfectionist are as thoughtful as they are funny and his current BBC6 radio show and podcast have a big cult following.

This week, his Eddie-nominated show comes to the Soho Theatre for a short, six-date run so I grabbed a brief chat with him to find out what it entails and whether he really is the grumpy curmudgeon we are led to believe.

E: Why is your show called This Guy At Night?

J: It's about that time of night when it's just you and your brain and you pick apart the mistakes you've made that day and reflect. I think that time is really important – we all need to sit and let our brains unknot things, otherwise it builds up and gets out of hand. Most of my friends read or watch TV before they go to sleep which I think is running away from having to think about stuff.

E: This is your fifth consecutive show from Edinburgh, you must enjoy it to keep going back every year.

J: I think it's really important for a comic if your aspiration is your career and you want to keep pushing yourself. The circuit's quite comfortable and there isn't much pressure to generate new material whereas there is in Edinburgh. The process itself I find really stressful and tend not to enjoy it. On one level you're trying to impress your peers and then on another level the critics, so trying to hit all those bases is impossible - you just have to go up there with something you're proud of and that makes it easier. The last Edinburgh was the most fun I've had yet.

E: Getting the Eddie nomination must have been the icing on the cake then.

J: Definitely yeah but it still just boils down to a few people's opinion; like last year I was quite happy with the show I had but that didn't make it onto the list. You just have to tell yourself that's ok. Comedy's a lonely job, you're just driving round saying things you think so it makes it easier when a recognised panel says 'that's really good, you're moving in the right direction'.

E: The show's about perfection isn't it? Are you a perfectionist?

J: Massively yes – to the point when it becomes a hindrance. Hence this morning not wanting to start anything. I spend ages getting everything parallel and symmetrical in my office, but I always need everything perfect! It's procrastination really...

E: And you worked as a chef briefly before you started doing comedy didn't you? I guess they have a reputation for perfectionism.

J: It's still something I'm really interested in, after comedy I've love to have a little bistro somewhere.

E: Do you cook a lot for your friends?

J: Not really, I live in Swindon so I don't have any friends here but I just tend to go to massively elaborate lengths to cook for myself where you spend three hours making a meal.

E: Like Heston Blumenthal's Search For Perfection!

J: Yeah, except there are no TV cameras around and you draw conclusions that no one else will ever find out about!

E:  You did Michael McIntyre's roadshow recently, screened on BBC1. Was that your biggest gig to date?

J: I've done stand-up on TV before but yes, it was the most exposure I'd had. It wasn't a huge ramp up, I'm being quite careful with comedy because I don't want to become overexposed and only be known for being ubiquitous. It's not like I wanted to go on Live at the Apollo and loads of panel shows. I want to work on specific projects that I have a say in.

E: Do you like his stand-up? A lot of comedians seem divided over him.

J: I think he's fantastic. People can be too pretentious at times and are too concerned with trying to make a point. I think a lot of people criticise Michael because they don't like what he does but he's so honest and straightforward, he's not trying to change the world - he just wants to make people laugh. Comedy is so much more criticisable than other art forms, it really frustrates me. I was chatting to Hal Cruttenden about it and he was saying if a dancer falls over everyone thinks they're still a good dancer they just slipped up, but if a comedian has a bad gig everyone thinks they're a terrible comic.

E: You're often labelled as a grumpy comic - do you think this is fair?

J: I complain about stuff but make sure I'm not just moaning about things that people didn't care about. My comedy always comes from the view point that things are incredible for us now and our lives are so easy. All we need to work harder on is how we treat each other and think about how our behaviour affects other people and then our lives will be perfect. 99% of things I think are amazing but then I just talk about the 1% that we can all strive to make better and as a result I get labelled as a grumpy comic!

This Guy at Night kicks off at the Soho Theatre on Thursday 19th November.

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Emma