Fans of comedian Jon Richardson can breathe an enormous sigh of relief. He has no intention of giving up stand-up comedy – ever, especially when speaking in the run-up to his latest tour, ‘Nidiot’.
‘I’ll be doing stand-up for the rest of my life. The opportunities that it grants you can’t be denied. Stand-up is both the hardest thing I do and the thing I enjoy most. There is no fooling anyone with edits or six people around you – it’s the purest possible art-form.’
Jon continues that;
‘I’m very proud of being a comedian and having got to the point where people will come out to see me. They remind me that I’m good at it. Paranoia can set in the day after a show. But you’re never closer to the moment of remembering you’re funny than when you’re on stage making hundreds of people laugh. At that second, there’s no argument about it…at that moment, the focus is so pure, it’s wonderful. Hearing people laugh is infectious. It makes you feel so good.’
Jon carries on; ‘I’m obsessed with keeping things tidy. So when I’m focused on the job in hand on stage, it’s a blessed relief from folding towels in the dressing room!’
On the topic of his upcoming tour, Jon stated;
‘I itch to do new material all the time. Even when I’m on tour, I’m writing stuff for the next tour. I live near a comedy club, and I’m always trying out new material there. It’s such a buzz when you say something you’ve never said before and it gets a huge laugh in the club. If you then go on to say it on Live at the Apollo, three million people laugh. You think, ‘That came out of the reaction to something I said in front of 40 people in a pub on a Monday night!’’
Jon goes on to explain the title of the new show.
‘It’s designed to confuse radio DJs,’ deadpans the comedian, who has previously been known for his pessimistic demeanour. ‘A ‘nidiot’ is something different from an idiot. An idiot is someone who’s problems are caused by not concentrating enough. A ‘nidiot’ is someone who makes his life more complicated by thinking too much rather than not enough. I’m not an idiot, but I’m definitely a ‘nidiot’!’
Jon comments that, “The main theme of ‘Nidiot’ is being happy. Because I now live with my girlfriend, this is the first time I’ve gone on tour as a happy person. Fingers crossed that something goes wrong by the time I record the DVD in October!
However, Jon is quick to reassure us that, “Comedically nothing has changed in this show. I may have a girlfriend, but I still shout at the TV and at the squirrels in my garden. If anything, the list of things I shout at is even longer now. Sadly, I think the leopard can’t change his spots. It’s just that my perspective is different now. I’m complaining from the other side of the coin.”
Jon concludes with a laugh that, “I shouldn’t still be working out how to be misanthropic singleton comic when I’m 60. I should have moved on by then. I feel I may have betrayed people by being in a relationship and being happy, but hopefully they’ll still come to see me and love the show.”
Jon Richardson’s highly anticipated second DVD will be available 1st December 2014.
Taken from syndicated interview – 02/14
