Review: Richard Herring ﾃや What is Love Anyway? ﾃや Newcastle Stand.
By
Andrew Dipper
ﾃや March 18, 2012
Richard Herring | Giggle Beats
When I spoke to Richard Herring last year he was in the process of writing and previewing What is Love, Anyway, his half-flippant, half-serious attempt to destroy love. With typical assurance, Richard told me that he thought this show, a follow-up of sorts to Christ on a Bike: The Second Coming, was his best yet. Itﾃや冱 the kind of throwaway line most comedians supply journalists with, I suppose, but he may have a point.
Of Herringﾃや冱 more recent outings, What is Love, Anyway? obviously lacks the political bite of Hitler Moustache; but itﾃや冱 just as teasing as his religious satire Christ on a Bike ﾃや ﾃや廬tﾃや冱 okay to laugh at religion, but you canﾃや冲 pick on a magical thing I believe in!ﾃや ﾃや and as biographical as The Headmasterﾃや冱 Son.
How can a man who believes so passionately in the rational world also have the capacity for love? Isnﾃや冲 love just a survival technique that aids procreation, a chemical process in the brain?
So much of this show is about Herring himself. How he thought he found love in a playground simply holding hands with a strange girl; a sweet observation in itself that elicits awkward laughter of recognition. Or how the young Richard Herring, discontent with the sleazy behaviour of his friend Tom, decided to write a private poem to establish the difference between love and lust ﾃや and show him just what he was missing from virginal life. Loneliness, namely.
Like his routine on collecting Ferrero Rochers for his girlfriend ﾃや which I thought was the weakest point in his set in terms of the pay-off ﾃや Herring hammers home the poem reading with repetition and an acute sense of timing. Stew would be proud.
Speaking of Lee, Herringﾃや冱 deft impression of his former double-act partner, presumably included to plug the Fist of Fun DVD release, is tremendous. Itﾃや冱 just another reason to catch this show before it disappearsﾃやｦ
The strength of Herringﾃや冱 writing means the second section of What is Love, Anyway? is over before you know it. The call-backs come thick and fast, though theyﾃや决e not shoe-horned into the set, and this sense of structure re-enforces your trust in Herring as the room goes quiet for the extended closing routine about his grandmother.
After facetious stories about adolescent angst, dirty Valentineﾃや冱 Day cards, Ferrero Rochers, Stewart Lee and a club set routine on how Herringﾃや冱 girlfriend says silly things ﾃや again, one of the few weaker moments ﾃや he offers an emotionally satisfying end to the night that I wouldnﾃや冲 dream of spoiling in this review.
Whether What is Love, Anyway? is Richard Herringﾃや冱 best show to date is down to personal taste, I suppose, but one thingﾃや冱 for sure: I loved it.
http://www.gigglebeats.co.uk/2012/03/review-richard-herring-what-is-love-anyway-newcastle-stand/
