WHAT better to do on a bank holiday Monday than spend time at a comedy gig? From the packed out Lyric Theatre, that seemed to be a popular idea.

It was finally 8pm and people were sat waiting for the lights to dim, and the show to start, when Jon Richardson awkwardly ran-skipped onto the stage. This wasn’t the opening that we were all expecting, and it was clear it wasn’t the opening that he had originally prepared.

He came out unofficially to thank the audience for coming out, in light of the events that occurred a week earlier at the Manchester Arena. This impromptu start was a pleasant surprise and as he walked back off the stage for his official entrance, it really set the crowd up in a good mood to enjoy the show.

Then the lights finally dimmed and the spot light fell onto the centre of the stage. Jon came out, more confidently this time, in a cardigan that can only be described as something your great uncle would pull out of the bottom of his wardrobe. However, Jon liked to call it his ‘establishing cardigan’ only to take it off to reveal that he was wearing another one underneath! Thankfully this was just a standard grey button up.

The show started with jokes about touring, which then led to a rant about being in Leicester and clear hatred for the football player, Jamie Vardy. This show is definitely not one for Leicester supporters, and Jon was even able to joke about how that set would go down at his upcoming show in that city.

From the off it’s clear that the show isn’t for the easily offended, with strong language scattered throughout, but Richardson seemed to be enjoying himself as he often strayed from his set material into comedic rants.

A large part of the first act was based on Twitter, and Jon’s love of Twitter hate that he receives. He then started talking about people who were at the show and had tweeted him that day.

It might have been uncomfortable for those in the audience that he picked out as he started telling everyone about their lives, but it was a high point in the first act to have him relish in the embarrassment of others.

The second act took a turn for the weird, compared to the first as it started off talking about intimate parts of his wife’s pregnancy. Somewhat impressively, was able to describe her feminine parts as a car door being ripped off its hinge during the actual labour.

Jon made reference to his appearances on panel shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats, and the contrast between these TV gigs and his live shows. He seemed to flow more, his set didn’t seem scripted at all and overall, it seemed like he was having fun vibing off the crowd.

If you are still able to buy tickets to see Jon, it will be worth it. Even if not for the excellent jokes, go to see his ‘establishing cardigan’ and his dad dancing at the end, that makes it all worth it!

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