Gareth Richards: It's Not The End of the World

Hirsute Fringe debutant Gareth Richards hails from Bournemouth, "a place where people go to die". South Coast inhabitants might be shuffling off this mortal coil in increasing numbers, but Richards doesn’t think his time will be up anytime soon. Instead, drawing on a mixture of observational humour and bizarre musical numbers, he makes the case that the world is not going to end. At least not in 2012.

The material ranges from the prosaic (shopping in the Co-operative) to the gleefully apocalyptic (having sex with the last woman on earth). His choice of instrument, the omnichord—"omni means really, chord means brilliant"—is inspired: rescued from the 80s, its tinny, hollow sounds provide the perfect accompaniment for anti-Bob Dylan ditties like ‘What Would You Do Nick Clegg?’.

Nominated for Best Newcomer at last year’s Fringe, Richards possesses a pleasingly quirky onstage persona. His slow, overly considered speech is redolent of both Russell Brand and Emo Philips, although a tendency to laugh early at his own gags somewhat punctures the deadpan shtick.

Before the show starts Richards warns us that there will be lulls —"at points in this show you will wish you were dead," he croaks—but it’s weak punch lines that are the show’s biggest failing. At times Richards sells himself short by going for the easy, shallow laugh. But there’s promise here, and every indication Richards has a bright future ahead of him. Provided, of course, that the world doesn’t end first.