the work of Dario Fo into the English language in his own West End hit production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Wyndham's Theatre, 1980) for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award. He also starred in the production for Channel 4 TV in the UK. Richards played Face in Griff Rhys Jones's production of The Alchemist at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith and toured in the lead role in Jack Shepard's Comic Cuts. He worked as a guest artist on the BBC/SPP TV co production of Kidnapped, and the TVNZ production of The Lost Children, both shot entirely in New Zealand. Richards has performed at the London Palladium in the stage production of 'Allo 'Allo, which also toured New Zealand and Australia. He directed Shane Connaughton's first play, Jenny at the Roundhouse, London, in 1969. In the 1970s he performed throughout Europe and Scandinavia with Ken Campbell's Roadshow, before becoming a founder member of the 7:84 Theatre Company and artistic director of the Belt & Braces Theatre Company, touring Britain for over twelve years in political rock musicals. Belt & Braces also produced Brecht's Mother Courage. As well as his own work, Richards' collaborations with writers John Arden, Margaretta D'Arcy, Adrian Mitchell, Trevor Griffiths and John McGrath were seen regularly at the Edinburgh Festival and transferred to London on several occasions. Richards's political activism was illustrated when he appeared in separately distributed media (mainly VHS tapes) titled "The Miners’ Campaign Tapes" made by independent filmmakers which were sponsored by the NUM. The tapes gave an alternative view of the UK miners' strike (1984–85) to those presented by the mainstream media at the time. In 1987 he played "Brian" in the British Gas Public Information Film about the dangers of a gas leak. In the early 1990s, together with Tamara Henry, Richards presented Richard Sparks's comedy The Crimson Lizard in New Zealand, with himself, Annie Whittle and Lloyd Scott, at the Court Theatre, Christchurch and the Fortune Theatre, Dunedin. The production was then remounted in the UK at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds. Richards and Henry then went on to form their own theatre company, Theatre South, which toured a New Zealand version of The Drawer Boy, by Michael Healey, to audiences at the Fortune Theatre in Dunedin, the Court Theatre in Christchurch, Centrepoint Theatre in Palmerston North and at Downstage in Wellington. The production also played in Blenheim, Invercargill,