Durham Fringe Festival 2026
Richard Pulsford: Yorkshire Dad, Immigrant Mum
Richard Pulsford
Genre: Comedy, Solo Performance, Solo Show
Venue: The Academy
Festival: Durham Fringe Festival
Low Down
Multi-award-winning stand-up comedian Richard Pulsford takes a nostalgic tour into his parents’ past to try to understand how it made them who they were, and therefore the person who he is. With a dad from Yorkshire and a ‘foreign’ mum it’s no surprise Richard has ended up being, well, ‘funny’.
Review
Richard Pulsford’s show does exactly what it says on the tin, but from the start he reminds us that this is not a stand-up show.
Of course, he can’t help himself, and the occasional gag escapes into the show, but that is a bit necessary as this is also autobiography and an explanation of how he became funny. We get to hear cassette recordings of him trying to be funny as a child, so I don’t think he became funny. I think he was quite funny from an early age.
This is a tender, well crafted monologue, tragicomic with bittersweet moments. Pulsford is an easy, humble host, yet confident in his material and his delivery.
There is no attempt at theatricality apart from the occasional gently acted vignette or snippet of a song.
This is a story of a troubled relationship with his father, dealing with tragedy in the family, and arriving in the present having tried to piece together an explanation for why he is where he is in his life now.
That makes it relatable, often moving, with tender moments, and he is not afraid to take on the harsher material that comes from being mortal, with less than perfect family members.
Ultimately, the focus is more on the relationship with his father, and this is a direct piece of storytelling, commentary, and an hour in the company of an eloquent raconteur.
He is known more publicly as a master of the pun, but every comedian, of course, has a life story. Not everybody tells it, and certainly not every performer tells it with such assured calm. The audience were as interested by the end as they were at the beginning. The performer holds attention by not trying too hard to do so. That enables us to lean in and listen, and the whole thing feels authentic, which gives it an edge over many autobiographical comedians who essentially hype up their own life in search of a gag or a laugh. It is still an often darkly funny show, but that’s more of an emergent property than the main aim of the proceedings, becuse there’s also lightness if the way the story is told.
There are photos and a bit of video shared, and some of it just needs to be a bit clearer, even though these are older exhibits. Perhaps take the lights down a bit more so we can see all of them properly.
This is also an intelligent, informative show, and we get snippets and tidbits of information and observation latched on to some philosophical reflection. The show is delivered in a low-key style. We learn about Yorkshire tropes and how to deal with a dad who is tight with his money.
In places, the show could be a bit tighter, and the vocal delivery needs to be a bit clearer.
This is about how we live the unsymmetrical life, and I was very glad to be there. Don’t expect the usual barrage of puns. But enjoy a life story very well told, a satisfying tale of light, shadow, and self-discovery.
