Adam Riches goes from Daniel Day Lewis to Andy Warhol

Alice Jones' Arts Diary

His Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning show saw him riff on Daniel Day Lewis with hilarious results.

Now Adam Riches is to play Andy Warhol in a new play. A Thousand Miles of History, by Harold Finley, will recreate the New York art scene of the 1980s, following street artists Jean-Michel Basquiat (played by Michael Walters) and Keith Haring (Simon Ginty) and their friendship with Warhol.

“Warhol is the Big Bang”, says Finley. “We’re still trying to understand his influence.” As a comedian, Riches is ideally suited to capturing his anarchic spirit, he adds. “We were rehearsing a scene set in the Whitney Museum this morning and were rolling with laughter. People will recognise Warhol but they will be stunned by what he’s doing with the part.”

The play opens next month, fittingly, in the former factory turned art space, The Bussey Building in Peckham. “You walk in and it feels like the East Village”, says Finley.

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