There’s something homely about a cheeseboard. Its associations draw on times of comfort, times spent laughing and recalling tales. Willem Richards’ show at The Grand Mercure Hotel inspired these same emotions, as he performed a heartfelt show with a great mixture of sketch comedy and situational humour.
To set the scene, upon entering the performance room a man wearing glasses and speaking in heavily accented English waved people in, sat them down and offered cheese. You’d be forgiven if the first thing that goes through your head is, ‘What the fuck is going on here?’ – but all things considered, a good hunk of brie is always enough to put a person in the comfort zone. The man ducks back behind the curtain, explaining he’s getting his son. Out he comes back again, shedding the accent and opening the show, making the nature of this one-man improvisational piece evident to all.
The beginning of the show set the stage for Richards’ ability to make the crowd crack up laughing while leaving an individual member awkward and confused, plucking individuals from the audience and throwing them onto the stage for a variety of sketches. Spanish Ken was half the tale of how Richards forsook playing Barbie with his little sister to look cool in front of a short lived childhood friend, reflecting on the fickle nature of trying to impress peers as a child. and the first instalment of his Tennis Dad tales where he plucked one poor fellow out of his chair, gave him a tennis ball and kept chucking tennis balls at the guy until he told Richards’ ‘father’ character to piss off. Many more sketches were performed on the night, all of them well received by the audience, save the friends he embarrassed on stage for his Dating For Convenience segment.
The Tennis Dad stories were probably the highlight of the show, as they explained a comical yet loving relationship between Richards and his father. The fact that Richards could deliver these tales in a way that was relatable, well told and still hilarious says volumes about his potential. Many other performers forget to counterbalance their character acting with anything relatable, and in doing so create an un-relatable and alienating performance. Richards’ ability to tell a story and leave an audience laughing their heads off says volumes about his versatility and potential – he’ll definitely be one to watch in the future.
BY BRANDON HILLS
