Matt Richardson
Matt Richardson
Blackfriars Basement
Matt Richardson runs onto the stage as his name is boomed out by someone who sounds like the announcer guy from The X Factor. I'm sure several stand-ups have tried the same pop-culture reference for their intro. Except in Richardson's case it is the announcer guy from The X Factor. It's amazing the favours you can pull when you present the talent show's ITV2 off-shoot, The Xtra Factor.
To be fair, he doesn't really milk his own small-screen fame (he's the first to point out the show dropped half a million viewers when he took over from Olly Murs). However, there are obviously a good few members of the packed audience (the younger, gigglier ones, I'd guess) who are here because they've seen him on the telly - and because he's boyishly cute in a way that wouldn't make you blink if he was in One Direction rather than interviewing them alongside Caroline Flack. Wonder what those fans make of a show that's 50% about masturbation?
The main point, though, is that as a stand-up, Richardson has absolutely got it. Confidence and charisma pour from the stage as he manages to motor-mouth what feels like two hours of material into a 60-minute set. He's only 22, but you just know the future of UK comedy is in good hands.
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