Dozens of comedians have joined together in Edinburgh to pay a special tribute to a tragic stand up in a daily show that has become one of the most popular performances on the Fringe.
Stars from the world of comedy including Frank Skinner, Dara Ó Briain and Jack Whitehall have rallied together after much-loved comic and radio presenter Gareth Richards died on 7 April, following a car accident a few days earlier.
Richards, 43, was looking forward to performing his routine throughout the Fringe, and had booked a 4pm slot each day at Whistlebinkies pub on South Bridge.
Close friends and fellow top comedians Mark Simmons and Danny Ward decided to keep Richards’ slot and put on their own show to celebrate his life and raise money for his young family.
But when news of the idea spread, a host of household names volunteered to do a turn in a heartwarming tribute to the comic whose own debut Edinburgh Fringe show in 2010 was nominated for the best newcomer award.
Now, each day features an entirely different line up of stars, each determined to raise the roof to show how much Richards meant to them and to the stand up community.
Along with Skinner, Ó Briain and Whitehall, others set to appear before 27 August include Stewart Lee, Jo Caulfield, Shaparak Khorsandi, Glenn Moore, Troy Hawke, Nick Helm, Markus Birdman, Hal Cruttenden, Rosie Holt and Ivo Graham.
Well known Scots comics including Iain Stirling, Mark Nelson, Susie McCabe and Larry Dean are also listed to perform sets in one of the hour-long shows.
“A Show For Gareth Richards” is part of the Free Fringe and costs nothing to attend. However, audience members are encouraged to give what they can at the end.
Money raised at each show will be donated to the JustGiving page set up to start a trust fund for Richards’ two sons, aged 11 and 13, which has already raised over £47,000.
Simmons, who will act as compère for most of the shows, said: “Danny, Gareth and I were like best mates. When I started comedy he’d been doing it for a few years and was starting to do really well.
“When I gigged with him he was the act I’d watch and think ‘that’s what I want to be’. I looked up to him because he was such a good joke writer and had a really quirky way of telling jokes, which I loved.
“We became really good friends and we’d text each other joke ideas. We were meant to be living together (during the Festival) in student accommodation just down the road.
“He was meant to have this slot this year and Danny and I said ‘let’s use that space to keep Gareth’s spirit alive at the Fringe and celebrate him’.
“To start with we thought we would just do it ourselves but when comedians found out about it the comedy community just pulled together.
“We’ve been inundated with people who want to do the show. We had a crazy lineup for our poster — people like Stewart Lee, Adam Kay, Vittorio Angelone — literally every comedian who’s up (in Edinburgh).
“Then, once I put the poster out Dara Ó Briain got in touch and said he wanted to do it, then Frank Skinner and Jack Whitehall, who started out with Gareth.
“It’s been amazing. It’s a competitive industry but when it matters people come together. Every day I’m doing less in the shows so I can get more people on, because everyone really wants to do it for Gareth.”
Ward had previously written a tribute to his friend on social media, ending with a call for everyone to try to ‘be more Gareth’. Now he and Simmons both wear “be more Gareth” t-shirts on their podcast and sign off with the same phrase.
Simmons added: “Gareth was a top comedian but he was also just a lovely, kind hearted bloke. In lockdown he trained to be a counsellor and started working in schools counselling teenage kids dealing with mental health.
“He was the best. The show is a tribute but we don’t want to make everyone sad — it’s a comedy show and we’re having fun and celebrating his life.”
Richards, who appeared on TV shows like Russell Howard’s Good News and 4 Stands Up, was also co-host of the Frank Skinner Show on Absolute Radio.
Skinner, who headlined one of the shows last week, told how Richards transformed the radio show after appearing as a guest — and became a fixture for three years before he finally left, confiding that “he didn’t feel like he was a morning person”.
Skinner added: “I wanted to do (this show) because I loved Gareth. I’d known him a long time, we did a radio show together and he supported me on tour twice.
“I loved him and didn’t feel I could be in Edinburgh and not do this show. In comedy there is what they used to call a Blitz mentality in the war, because you always think nobody else knows what it’s like to be up there unless you’ve done it.
“You become like blood brothers and sisters but Gareth, as everyone will tell you, was much loved as well. Because he was utterly chaotic and gentle I think people cared for him.
“Performing in his slot freaks me out a bit because I would have been coming here to see his show and now I’m coming here for a memorial. It’s a celebration but I’d rather be seeing his show. I’m here for love and that’s the key.”
