Richard Herring- What Is Love, Anyway?
I caught Richard Herring's "What Is Love, Anyway?" before it disappeared off Netflix. In it, Herring sets his stall out to "destroy love", having been intrigued by the reaction of his audiences at the end of his previous show "Christ On A Bike", who took against the idea that love was equally as flawed a concept as religion.
Spoiler alert: After an entertaining (if baggy) 90 minutes, he fails to destroy love. I would have liked to seen the show in its original 60 minute Edinburgh Fringe incarnation. Unusually for a DVD recording, we get both 45 minute halves of the touring show. This naturally causes a loss in momentum and serves to highlight some of the less strong material earlier on. The first half largely focuses upon Herring deconstructing a poem written by his teenage self, pompously condeming a promiscuous boy he knew at the time. It's funny, but undeniably goes on a bit too long.
The tropes I've come to associate with Herring are used to good effect, particularly in the second half. His hallmark pedantry comes to the fore in a routine about promising to give his wife Ferrero Rocher chocolates each year so she can build a pyramid, before foolishly suggesting he doubles them every year. As he notes, it's a tale about the problems surrounding exponential mathematics.
There's also the defence of an unpopular notion or concept, as he observes that the line between love and unrequited love is paper thin. One of the show's highlights is Herring's recollection of dating Julia Sawalha, whom he idolised in a frankly creepy fashion on "Fist of Fun" and the scene of him watching the episode in question with her and his father. There's also the obligatory pop at the success of his old double act partner Stewart Lee. Which is always fun for the comedy nerds.
The show builds towards a conclusion with a focus on familial love, as him and his parents struggle to get some sign of recognition from his ailing grandmother in a hospital bed. It's well handled by Herring, poignant, touching and silly but without being mawkish. All in all, a good show in need of a spot of editing for a DVD release.
Spoiler alert: After an entertaining (if baggy) 90 minutes, he fails to destroy love. I would have liked to seen the show in its original 60 minute Edinburgh Fringe incarnation. Unusually for a DVD recording, we get both 45 minute halves of the touring show. This naturally causes a loss in momentum and serves to highlight some of the less strong material earlier on. The first half largely focuses upon Herring deconstructing a poem written by his teenage self, pompously condeming a promiscuous boy he knew at the time. It's funny, but undeniably goes on a bit too long.
The tropes I've come to associate with Herring are used to good effect, particularly in the second half. His hallmark pedantry comes to the fore in a routine about promising to give his wife Ferrero Rocher chocolates each year so she can build a pyramid, before foolishly suggesting he doubles them every year. As he notes, it's a tale about the problems surrounding exponential mathematics.
There's also the defence of an unpopular notion or concept, as he observes that the line between love and unrequited love is paper thin. One of the show's highlights is Herring's recollection of dating Julia Sawalha, whom he idolised in a frankly creepy fashion on "Fist of Fun" and the scene of him watching the episode in question with her and his father. There's also the obligatory pop at the success of his old double act partner Stewart Lee. Which is always fun for the comedy nerds.
The show builds towards a conclusion with a focus on familial love, as him and his parents struggle to get some sign of recognition from his ailing grandmother in a hospital bed. It's well handled by Herring, poignant, touching and silly but without being mawkish. All in all, a good show in need of a spot of editing for a DVD release.
Comments
Post a Comment