Rich Hardisty’s Silly Boy exploring themes of bipolar disorder and self-harm

An anonymous benefactor has funded Rich Hardisty’s Silly Boy to go on tour as he feels the show needs to be seen by as many people as possible.

From storming the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to twice selling out and extending a Soho Theatre run, actor, writer, and comedian Rich Hardisty will be taking his show out on the road for his debut national tour, starting on April 2.

Through a magnetic performance, Rich shares the highs and lows of his eventful and peculiar life, exposing how his mental illnesses affect him.

Silly Boy explores themes such as anorexia, bipolar disorder, self-harm, borderline personality disorder and heroin abuse.

But as dark as the subjects may be, the show is not heavy, more a celebration of the beauty and silliness of it all, and the interesting, riotous and sometimes shocking things his brain is capable of doing.

Dr Mark Salter, consultant in adult general psychiatry, said: “It was the most accurate portrayal of mental illness and bipolar disorder I had ever seen.”

Two psychotherapists also messaged Rich after seeing the show to say that they learned more from his show than any academic paper or textbook they have read as they got to feel what it feels like.

He was then invited to perform at the Psychologist Research Institute in Bristol and to the NHS Conference.

In 2017, Rich entered a manic-depressive episode that saw him trapped in his house for two years.

In a bid to rehabilitate himself, he started performing in his studio flat where he would invite people in and talk about his issues in the only way he knew how, using humour.

People would cram into his tiny studio and sit wherever they could, in the kitchen, on the floor or the bed and the show resonated more than he could ever have anticipated.

Gaining popularity and unable to perform in his studio anymore, Rich took his show to the Camden Comedy Club, where he was offered a residency.

Within 16 months, Rich was selling out shows in London and New York.

Rich’s journey has been far from conventional.

He left school in Yorkshire with no GCSEs and worked as a binman, a cleaner, a stand-up comedian and even became an internet entrepreneur, raising (and losing) a million dollars for his empathy-based internet start-up, which saw him partner with Stephen Fry.

He developed two sitcoms with Channel 4, including The Art of Foley and can be seen in Lovesick and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.

Rich does everything he can to bring you into his world and the show’s unique finale has been described as one of the most electrifying endings to a comedy show you will see.

 

Picture: Rich Hardisty, Picture: Tom Atkin