Jon Richardson (From Croydon Guardian)

Jon Richardson

2:05pm Monday 11th August 2008

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Jon Richardson, Dogmatic - Pleasance Beside, 8.40pm Bit of a disappointment, this. Jon Richardson's show last year was getting name-checked all over the shop, like when a hot new girl joins your year, but there's not an awful lot to get excited about.

The premise of the show - Dogmatic - is Jon's attempts to shake off his reputation as a misanthrope and rediscover his love for the world and all its wonderful people. It doesn't work, of course, which is a fairly predictable outcome.

It all just felt a bit too safe. Not all comics need to have a gimmick or be challenging, still, if you are going to be just a normal bloke talking about normal stuff and that's it, then you need bags full of wit and some cracking material. Richardson doesn't have enough of these for a full hour show.

There is enough charm and good timing to sustain a club comedy night 20-minute slot, and Richardson is witty enough on his BBC6 show with Russell Howard, but Dogmatic seems like a mate of yours who's funny down the pub, who's been shoved on stage with a few anecdotes about cooking for one and things that have annoyed him, without much flare of purpose.

Two stars