Review: Offgridland, Lion & Unicorn Theatre

Paul Richards is doing the rounds of UK Fringe festivals. Before diving into Offgridland, he opens by rattling through where he’s visited so far, alongside a quick, amusing couple of words giving his verdict on each. Visiting the Lion & Unicorn as part of Camden Fringe is another stop on his road to Edinburgh for his 21st year at the Fringe.  

At the heart of Richards’ one-man show is Kevin, and all Kevin would like is one hour of peace and quiet to have his lunch. No phone calls, no voicemails, no WhatsApp, no Teams, no devices making noise at him. No disturbances at all. As you might imagine, this ends up being trickier than it sounds.   

With such a simple premise, we are left to rely on Richards’ performance to engage us. Thankfully, he’s got presence, chatting away to the audience before the show starts and tailoring minor jokes to add comments he’s pulled from the audience. Richards is hugely personable, and it’s interesting that on his website the ‘About Paul’ section is headed “He goes on a bit, that lad.”  

Gosh, he does! 

As Kevin’s phone or computer beeps again and again, interrupting his lunch over and over, Richards proves he’s warm, funny and easy company – even as he does, very much, go on a bit! We share Kevin’s frustration in his search to drop off the grid, however briefly, even if that serenity is just temporary: a granola bar and a few minutes away from the world can feel like luxury. As Kevin battles through the different people and devices that might interrupt him, it becomes clear that it is not the technology that is the problem. Kevin just needs to get away from people. I’m sure we can all identify with that!   

As we spend more time with Kevin, we learn about his life and love life through little flashbacks and glimpse at previous relationships. Except, this isn’t just Kevin’s story. We are now watching season 33 (or thereabouts) of it, and it emerges Kevin has had an audience in his head for decades. So, he happily chats away, expecting us to recall characters and moments from previous episodes, including the Scottish girl who turned him down many years ago. Richards holds his small audience, gently asking us what we remember from previous episodes or drawing opinions – including from Alan on tech! It makes the whole thing feel wonderfully intimate, like we are all in the joke together.  

There’s an ongoing gag about the job from which Kevin is having his one-hour lunch break. Week in and week out, he takes the paperwork on his desk and simply burns it. For 15 years, he’s never once logged into his computer. You can probably see where this one is going before the reveal, but Richards gets every laugh out of the journey, and the disclosure still gets a well-deserved laugh.  

If you have ever wished your phone would simply stop beeping, and the world would leave you alone for just a few minutes, Offgridland will feel all too familiar. Thankfully, Richards makes that frustration pretty funny. 

Written by Paul Richards
Directed by Cara Hanman
Produced by Shoulder Cat Productions

Offgridland has now completed its run in London but plays at Greenside, Edinburgh Fringe Festival,
from Monday 24 to Saturday 29 August.