Matthew 1.1

From Christ On A Bike: The Second Coming

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Glasgow Comedy Festival Preview Show
Live Review

The traditional Burns Nights launch of Glasgow’s comedy festival in – where else? – London certainly offered a line-up more appetising than haggis.

Such was the embarrassment of talent that consummate compere Susan Calman had to crash through the night’s acts, using her overpowering ‘evil pixie’ charm to quickly corral the audience into their cheery place, pausing only to share a few tales of domestic mischief at the start of each half before cracking on with the show.

Arthur Smith seemed confused as to why he was here, working for free at a gig emblazoned with sponsor Magners’ logo. But then, at his age, confused is probably an occupational hazard. Still, his combination of well-practiced one-liners and professional grumpiness proved a wry introduction to the night, undemanding for both performer and audience.

Canada’s Tony Law offered a much less honed act – written on the bus, so he claimed – but then that is the point. Like much of the best comedy, his shtick is controlled madness; hammering home ridiculously silly phrases ad nauseum, then defusing them with a knowing commentary on how idiotic he’s being. Harry Hill meets Ross Noble, sort of.

Although Law befuddled the crowd in a good way, they were less sure of what to make of Kevin Eldon, equally mixing surreal randomness with a vocalisation of his internal monologue about what he was up to on stage; in this case adopting the guise of a fictional Northerner. All rather odd, it suffered a little from being outside the context of his impressive solo show.

Overwhelmingly good-natured, Josie Long’s attack on the Coalition’s cuts brought to mind parliamentary jibes about being savaged by sheep, as she earnestly pleaded for them to leave alone things she finds joyful, such as libraries. It’s a new angle to the usual cynical attacks on politicians, and a refreshing one. The bulk of her set, though, involved an anecdote about an horrific road accident in which she nearly died. Without giving the end away, she didn’t, and she makes the tale remarkably upbeat.

Madonna pumps out the speaker, and Craig Hill explodes on to the stage in a twirl of leather kilt, executing high-impact dance moves. He’s the very definition of camp, catting about those who don’t meet his exacting standards with exaggerated disgust and even more exaggerated expressions. If you want a double entendre, he’ll give you one – and the audience banter flows freely. Depth? Who needs it, when you’ve got this heightened sense of self-fabulousness.

Just a slight contrast comes in the shape of Miles Jupp, in fine suit and stiff upper-middle-class demeanor. Opening with a few spot-on quips about Boris Johnson, he explains that he’s taking to Glasgow a show about every Scot’s favourite subject: cricket. The extract he performed from Fibber In The Heat – which tells of how he blagged his way into the press corps covering a Test series in India – proved delightfully funny, even though it’s a storytelling piece which, by rights, shouldn’t work in a stand-up environment.

Robin Ince, more used to long shows where his peripatetic mind is given full rein to both leap around and set out his intellectual stall was worried about performing in the limited time slots offered to each act tonight. In fact, it was the making of him – forcing him to distill his middle-aged, middle-class prejudices into pin-sharp and beautifully grumpy, punchlines. He may be a cardigan-wearing bibliophile, but he can be beautifully acidic.

John Moloney is, by nature, a more precise performer; every pause accurately timed, every word delicately chosen for maximum effect. Such an approach allowed him to build a solid circuit career on a reliable, if rarely changing, bank of one-liners. These days, however, he is increasingly employing those skills in observational stories; and his yarn here about such simple a task as taking the cat to the vet squeezes a laugh from almost every sarcastic sentence, building up an increasingly vivid and ridiculous picture of the incident with every droll, disappointed line. Fine work, in both senses.

Richard Herring’s no stranger to the Leicester Square Theatre, having performed his revived Christ On A Bike show here since before Christmas. Here we were treated to one of the finest sections from that: the elegant deconstruction of the opening verses of the Gospel according to Matthew that’s both silly and incisive in equal measure. It revolves around a feat of memory, but it’s more impressive as a feat of comedy.

If all the Glasgow festival is as strong as this taster, the city is in for a real treat.

• The Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival runs from March 17 to April 10. More details

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I must admit to being a serious and long term fan of Richard Herring (so I might be biased), but in my view Christ on a Bike – The Second Coming, as performed on Wednesday 13 April in Nottingham, was the fastest, funniest and cleverest show I had seen for a very long time. With a surgical precision Richard takes his scalpel and lays bare the bones of Christianity, and then proceeds to deconstruct some of its basic tenets to devastating effect. Intellectually challenging and stimulating throughout, this is a dazzling display of wit which never falters for a moment. Whilst as Richard admits, he is tackling a personage no less important than Hitler, this is a tour de force from beginning to end, and without the occasional over-earnest passages of Hitler’s Moustache.rnrnIt will be hard to cap this one.

Geoff F, April 2011

Almost all the funny lines from Ricky Gervais' 'Inside the Actors' Studio' guest spot - Herring's Christ On A Bike, The way Gervais talks to Pilkington - Herring's comic persona in the 90s with Stu Lee and then Andrew Collins in his podcast. Gervais' standup - a few near-misses of plagiarism from Herring... Herring's The Modern Review a fake fly on the wall doc years before The Office.

Roberto, April 2011

Bumming!

Ted, January 2011

I relegated Mr Herring to the back of my 'must see' list after seeing him do a very disappointing 15 minute stint at a BBC Best of the Fest night at Edinburgh a couple of years ago. However, my friend bought us tickets for his show this year, & I was completely taken by surprise by how much I loved it. We also saw him at Pimms Summerfest last night, and giggled throughout his set, even though we'd seen some of the material such a short time ago. Which proves that its quality stuff. I am now a convert, and thoroughly appreciate the bloke with the child-sized hands. Bravo!

Jo Phelan, August 2008

I see far too many stand-ups. I am a comic tart. In my view in the last two years Herring has strode to the front of the pack in the UK stand ups for innovation. In his comic persona he is polite middle classiness on a stick. He collects for charity at every show, always provides a full free programme for longer sets, and keeps an exhaustive blog for his fans. But and it s a big but, he is no longer an Oxbridge silly chappy he is now replete with a midlife crisis - childish and childless - as he puts it - and a cruel streak. His new Edinburgh show is pushing at what stand up can be. Which in truth is worse he asks - Maxime Carr or Steve Martin's poor comic acting? Steve Martin in Herring's World. The new show has left behind the big themes such as Catholicism but keep an abiding interest with the illogic of blaming the victim. He is not one to work an audience beyond what is expected of a stand up preferring to rely on hammering out wonderful turns of phrases. His is for the most part not our own situation but he is Everyman and more importantly funny enough to interest us. This is not a master at work more importantly he is someone with the guts to take stand up in new and for me funnier direction. Something is rotten in the state of Herring and it s to our advantage. Go and see him you missed Hicks, didn t you he is moving into that league.

Ben Heal, September 2006

Richard is one of the best comics of our generation. I am so pleased he still enjoys doing his shows and stays in touch with his audience, instead of disappearing into the safe world of writing. He does do script writing for a lot of major British comedies but doesn't shy away from the intensity of the stage. Well worth going to see him live if you get a chance.

Tom, July 2006

Saw Richard Herring in Edinburgh last August. Was expecting something good, but he was actually harrowingly piss-poor. I laughed once, and that was at a heckle. If it wasn't for his association with Stewart Lee, he'd be little more than a part-time comic dragging his arse from one students' union bar to another. When I saw Herring he deconstructed some of his material for comedic effect (and probably to show off his intelligence and self-awareness); unfortunately, this is something Daniel Kitson does much, much better. Sorry to be negative, but this man woefully disappointed me.

Colin Smethers, July 2006

Not funny at all, quite embarrassing in fact. The two sixth formers behind me laughed their socks off, but no one else did, which pretty much sums it up

Matthew, June 2006

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