This review first appeared in the Evening Standard in July.
Russell Brand has done Question Time so it is only fair that Steve Richards, chief political columnist for The Independent, is doing stand-up. In Rock 'n' Roll Politics the sober-suited pundit enters doing the kind of dad dancing that should not be seen at weddings, never mind onstage. Thankfully, when he stops things improve.
Strictly speaking this feels barely like stand-up, more like an audition for after-dinner speaking. Richards accuses modern ministers of blandness but is hardly Mr Personality himself. He is, however, an articulate, intelligent observer of Westminster antics, with a mix of colourful anecdotes, recalling how, for instance, Peter Mandelson advised Gordon Brown to try yoga.
As for current politicians, he says they are too interested in Twitter but also attacks the press for being obsessed with what burgers George Osborne eats, when they should be skewering his economic strategy.
There should be more space to discuss issues, he says, before recalling with exquisite timing how he managed to get half a sentence out on Newsnight before being silenced by Jeremy Paxman.
Convincing impressions pepper the patter, though many, such as Harold Wilson, are so old that Mike Yarwood might have deemed them passé. The result is an enjoyable evening that comes full circle, with Richards dancing badly again while explaining that the dilemma for modern MPs is whether to hit the dancefloor or hide. A tenuous analogy but, like this set, it just about works. Michael McIntyre, however, need not feel threatened.
Tags:
