10 Quick Qs – Adam Richard
1. Describe your show Twitter-style, 140 character or less!
Gaypocalypse: the zombie apocalypse brought about by the union of public servant lesbians in Canberra, as predicted by religious nutbars.
2. Do you feel pressured to be funny at family gatherings?
Not at all. My sister is ten times funnier than I could ever hope to be. In fact, one of her most inspired anecdotes makes it into Gaypocalypse. The embarrassing tale of her trip to the Cranbourne Rodeo – I’m not sure why she went, perhaps she likes watching bogans fall off cows.
3. Is this your first Adelaide Fringe? If so, what are you most looking forward to? If not, what is your least favourite thing about the festival?
Not my first fringe by a long shot! Last time I was there was with Talking Poofy (in that incarnation, myself, Wes Snelling and Scott Brennan) in 2011. Last solo fringe show was Driven in 2009. I used to do a daily gossip segment on SAFM, so I’ve always enjoyed hanging out and performing in Adelaide. My least favourite part of the festival is competing for punters – it is definitely a buyers’ market – so much to see, and just not enough time or money!
4. What was the most challenging aspect about preparing your show?
I’ve been doing breakfast radio for a decade, so I haven’t really had the time to devote to crafting a show like this, thinking about what I want to say, and why. You’d think that would mean I’d edit out all the putrid stuff, but no. This is a show about a zombie apocalypse, so it is bound to be gross at some point.
5. If you could be any character in any movie, who and what would it be?
Ariel in The Little Mermaid. To be honest, that was the only reason I agreed to be in Celebrity Splash, so I could sing “Part of Your World,” as I flung myself off the 5m tower.
6. Who’s your biggest comedic idol?
It feels weird saying this, because we met when I first started doing standup in 97, and have been really good friends ever since, and he’s about 3 years younger than me, but I have always admired Wil Anderson – his work ethic is staggering. He makes it look so effortless when he’s up on that stage, you can’t really see the amount of thought he puts into each show he creates.
7. Is heckling allowed?
I’ve been openly gay since I was at high school, in the 80s. If you think you can say anything that I haven’t heard a hundred times, that I won’t have a bitchy comeback for that will make you look like an absolute dickhead in front of your mates, by all means. Bring it on.
8. What’s your favourite Internet-related guilty indulgence?
I watch Hollyoaks on my Foxtel app. It’s a ridiculous British soap opera, populated by good looking young people. Imagine Home & Away, but in a small, miserable, northern English village.
9. What is the biggest accolade you’ve received from one of your shows?
I got a breakfast radio job out of one of my shows, that lasted ten years!
10. What other Fringe show are you most excited to catch up with?
Wil’s new show, of course. My best mate Justin Hamilton, who is a legend of the Adelaide scene, is doing a new show that I’m very excited about. I’ll try to catch Creasey and Nicholson and perhaps something with singing in it, like Em Rusciano.
Gaypocalypse opens from 4th March.
