Harriet Richardson: Creep comedy review – Free-wheeling fangirling
Harriet Richardson’s Fringe debut jabs at online dating and trolling in a chaotic, fast-paced hour
The voiceover introducing Harriet Richardson to the stage sounds like comedian Catherine Bohart, and that’s definitely Stewart Lee posing next to her in a Polaroid we see during her show. Mancunian, London-based performance artist Richardson knows the frisson that brushes with fame can bring. Feeding off someone higher up the food chain appeals to her, a millennial Marina Abramović admirer in leather jeans. This is why, after creepy messages slide into her DMs, she ends up online stalking a comedian from Taskmaster.
Richardson explores self and society through durational works such as going on 100 dates one Valentine’s Day, or going viral with a tattoo featuring the mums’ names of all her exes. Comedy is a new medium though, one which she playfully, skilfully blurs here into her work as a terminally online artist. She slays at screengrabs; she crushes the comments; she knows what we like to watch and she clicks replies we want to read.
We live vicariously through her, ROFL as she forensically examines Raya and even eBay, trying to get close to her latest obsession. We take her side; she finds the funny in her search for validation, through boundary trampling and online trolls, zooming in on absurdities of modern masculinity. Her limerence puts her in the limelight more than her sleazy virtual beau (that seediness turns her on and maybe her next show can deep dive future therapy sessions.) Watching her charm others (including a reverend and virtual detective), she charms us too, especially as she exorcises personal demons and embraces fangirling herself by the end.
Harriet Richardson: Creep, Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 August, 7pm; picture: Charlie Ralph.