Jon Richardson, review: Pedant’s well worth the fuss

Jon Richardson starts as he means to go on by pedantically hanging his cardigan on his mic stand and ensuring it is the correct distance from his water bottle. He is a stickler for neatness. I’m not sure I could live with him but an evening in his company is hilarious.

The 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown regular swiftly reveals that he is now married and a father. Has this forced him to recalibrate his pettifogging fussiness? Far from it — he now has more to get gloriously grumpy about in his latest show, entitled Old Man. It is the minor issues that truly irk him, from ill-arranged crockery in dishwashers to trivial social media posts. He finds the funny everywhere and also has impressive memory skills. A stand-out routine that is part-Rain Man, part-Derren Brown sees him reciting fans’ tweets.

There is something traditional about his philosophy — there is his wife’s way and his correct way, he quips — but any chauvinistic superiority is promptly undercut by epic self-awareness. He knows his phobia of barbershops or public toilets is ridiculous.

He clearly exhibits signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Some may argue that this is not a suitable subject for comedy. Richardson proves the opposite and is perfectly placed to find humour in it. Equidistant from the microphone and his drink.