Matt Richardson is a firecracker. Never has a man who appears so genial and friendly been so outraged. Luckily his outrage is hilarious, as is the subject matter of his new show.
An excellent storyteller and the added element of the slash fiction really works.
The basis of Slash is slash fiction. For those of you that are uneducated, as I was before Friday night, slash fiction is fan fiction in which celebrities that appear together in the media are portrayed as having a sexual relationship. It turns out Richardson has had a lot of slash fiction written about him. About him and Harry Styles. And it is not all complimentary, but it is all funny.
Throughout the show, Richardson takes breaks from his stand-up to take a seat and tell us a story. Each one a slash fiction, and each one getting more ridiculous. Richardson is an engaging performer and although not everything is laugh-out-loud he is enjoyable to watch. In particular the stories he tells about his girlfriend are very funny, and instantly relatable. That being said, the show is not for the easily offended or squeamish.
It’s an enjoyable hour but the best parts of the show are the audience interaction. Richardson really does have a way with a crowd. Having seen him compere plenty of comedy shows before, it’s now clear why, as this is his greatest skill. He manages to turn whatever he is given into gold.
If you’ve never seen Matt Richardson before, he really is on form during Slash. Richardson is an excellent storyteller and the added element of the slash fiction really works. The best moments are the asides during the stories; even just the smallest amount of side-eye says a huge amount.
An amusing hour, with an excellent raconteur, even if some of the stories are from some crazy Harry Styles obsessed fangirls.
