Fringe 2025 – Adam Riches Presents Sean Bean Reading Le Morte d'Arthur Out Loud for an Hour ⭐⭐⭐

Edinburgh Reporter

a day ago

This is a show in which I found myself being twirled around a dark room by a very sweaty comedian who was wearing an approximation of 15th century dress. One to remember!
'Good luck reviewing that!'
This highly engaging show by former Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Adam Riches was very much a work in progress show, with Riches trying out various activities. Riches was very open with his audience that not all aspects would succeed. There were plenty of brilliant moments to enjoy, in a show that is clearly in a developmental stage. 'Good luck reviewing that!' was one comment I received at the end. Riches too wished me luck!
It certainly was a typical polished show, but it's anarchic character gave it energy, with the audience never quite sure what might happen next. That Riches didn't take things too seriously helped create the right atmosphere for his rather risky approach. Throughout, his self-deprecatory aspect helped Riches keep the audience on his side.
As an example of Riches trying things out, there were two lengthy game activities played with the audience. You felt as if Riches was trying both to see which worked best. You imagine that if the show gets polished, he will drop one of them. In my view, the battleships style game worked better, with more of the audience directly involved.
'it neither has to work or progress'
Riches has long been a performer who continually tries new things, never settling on repeating the same type of show year after year. He is a former Edinburgh Comedy Award winner; winning in 2011 with Bring Me the Head of Adam Riches. He has not stood still since. That desire to continually evolve is not universally shared among Fringe performers. I've certainly seen some who have regurgitated the same, tried and tested, material year after year. Not so with Riches.
Riches defined a work in progress show as one in which 'it neither has to work or progress'' In the case of this show, this was inaccurate as much of it did work, and there was a definite sense of a more realised show being formed. Most of audience seemed familiar with Riches' style, so were happy to buy into it.
Riches playfully teased the venue (Monkey Barrel 3 on Blair Street) for their erroneous description that this was the 'coolest room in the Fringe'' in terms of temperature. This was not the case, with Riches soon discovering the folly of wearing a heavy costume in such a steamy space. Fortunately, the show had plenty of inspiration to match the buckets of perspiration.
Soldiering on
Riches also questioned whether it had been a good idea to accept the venue's offer of an extra show – addressing the large portion of the venue that was empty. The implication that he was just soldiering on to fulfil his contract. Throughout he asked the tech assistants how long he had left; always sounding disappointed that he wasn't nearer his 1 hour target.
Even when aspects didn't go as planned or maybe didn't have the impact he'd hoped, he was skilful enough to make it work and get the audience on his side. The show relied quite a bit on audience interaction and participation. Again, he did this in a very 'unthreatening' way, supporting those who were brave enough to get up on stage and creating a collaborative atmosphere in the room.
Quick-witted and playful
For significant portions, Riches did exactly as the title of the show suggested; 'Adam Riches Presents Sean Bean Reading Le Morte d'Arthur Out Loud for an Hour'. He playfully used the character of Sean Bean, referencing the actor's tendency to stubbornly stick to his Yorkshire accent, even when playing American parts. His exaggerated comic parody of Sean Bean has featured on the panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Riches read out portions of the book, trying to imagine how Sean Bean might approach a text written in florid Middle English.
It was not so much Riches' reading that engaged the audience as his amusing, knowing, asides. In general his interactions with the audience were quick-witted and playful, with Riches skilfully dealing with the unexpected ('that's one of the strangest heckles you could imagine').
In good hands
The show's central conceit was that he had to stretch out meagre material into a 1 hour show, almost like a supply teacher doing an emergency lesson. Indeed, there was a cobbled together character to the show, but the quality of the performer shone through and raised the level.
This was in marked contrast to many shows I've seen in which the performers have struggled, aware that the show isn't as developed as it should be. That weight on their shoulders has ultimately led to a bit of car crash. If they were car crash elements to this, they were entertaining with the audience always reassured that they were in good hands. This is a show that has clear potential by a very adroit performer.
Note: The season has ended for this show.
Like this:
Like
Related