Scotsman reviews OFI50

Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Richard is 50 and happy, a husband and a dad. The show is a big friendly roly-poly of memories and anecdotes and it is lovely.

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

***

Just occasionally, lest we mistake him for Peter Kay, he helpfully differentiates the two by adding a graphic reference of a maternal nature to his whimsy. We get tales of a bad boy past and stories of a sometimes physiologically disappointing present. There is a bittersweet bluetooth story, a cautionary tale of an altercation with a postman and many of Richard’s worries about old age.

Proper personal happiness can be lethal to some comics’ work, but Herring seems to be coping fairly well with it. He balances contentment with a decent dash of self-obsession and, while it changes his comedy, he is still a great guy with whom to spend an hour. Even a cuddly topic like CBeebies still gets a decently inappropriate slant and certainly I will be tuning in to The Furchester Hotel to see what he is on about. Happy Birthday Show, Mr Herring. So glad you have found happiness and sorry about your penis.