Place on bill: Headline
Venue:
Creased Up - The Hawth,Crawley
Date of show: 12th May 2005
Richard Herring has been doing
stand-up for a long time yet this seems to be a bit of a downturn in his comedy
career when you think he was a part of a hugely successful TV and Radio
partnership with Stewart Lee in their Fist of Fun shows. And, by god, does
he look like he’s hit on hard times too! Overweight, unshaven, scruffy and
unkempt hair is not the best way to make a good first impression.
Looks aside, Herring is totally at ease in front of the lights and harsh
glares of the judgemental crowd (well, me at least) and begins a non-stop attack
on everything. Politics, the Pope, checkout staff, nothing is sacred to this
man, including himself and the audience.
His pieces range from calm, yet scathing, observations on contentious
issues to over-the-top rants on life’s inanities stripping every issue down to
its basic elements and leading the audience along paths of undeniable logic no
matter how ridiculous.
Course, crass and at times downright condescending to his listeners he
gets away with it by letting us know that he’s being deliberately condescending
which means he’s not being insulting but ironic.
In any other setting he could be considered rude and arrogant but with
his varying delivery styles and consistently high delivery-to-laugh ratio
he is one of the funniest and most skilled comedians on the
circuit.
