Adam Riches' Inane Chicanery
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If you're already familiar with Riches' irreverent, extremely hands-on — occasionally filthy — character comedy, you'll know what you're in for. Inane Chicanery's cut from the same cloth as his 2014 Adam of the Riches show, but with the intensity, absurdity and audience participation dialled up. Those not into audience participation should steer clear of the front row at all costs. Probably the front four rows, to be on the safe side.
A BMX stunt-rider, a dabble in the murky world of foot-food fetishes, a harmonica-playing cowboy all feature in a series of surreal, high-adrenaline sketches, but the audience interaction delivers the funniest — unprompted, and mostly unscriptable — moments of the show.
Riches makes for a capricious and occasionally brutal overlord, barrelling through social boundaries, personal space and the tough questions: 'His personality, is that the reason you two aren't a couple?' It's hilarious when it works, which is often — and if not every chunk of this show reaches the same dizzyingly ridiculous heights as some of his earlier ones (Sean Bean slaughtering horses and Ryan Gosling's predatory mother haunt our subconsciouses to this day), it's still consistently inventive, bizarre and energetic.
Adam Riches: Inane Chicanery, Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, W1D 3NE. Tickets from £7, till 3 February.
Last Updated 26 January 2018
