As It Occurs To Me is a revolutionary new ten-part weekly stand-up and sketch show written and performed by RICHARD HERRING which will only be available via internet download from iTunes and the British Comedy Guide (www.comedy.org.uk) as an audio podcast. All the material for each show will be brand new and written on the week of broadcast, based on things that have occurred to him, either events from his life or things he’s been thinking about.
It is Do-It-Yourself comedy without the support or interference of a broadcaster or sponsor. It’s untested and uncensored and completely unedited. It’s warts and all. HERRING says, “I was frustrated by the time and effort it took to get a radio and TV bosses to commit to an idea and then the censorship, interference and restrictions that were imposed upon you once you’d jumped through all those hoops. I realised that it is now possible to make your own show and have complete autonomy over content and not have to edit it down to fit a time slot. If I have 55 minutes worth of good ideas one week then the audience can hear them all, in their entirety. Or bad ones, of course.”
For the last eighteen months HERRING has been producing a weekly improvised podcast with his colleague ANDREW COLLINS (The Collings and Herrin Podcast) which had proven popular with listeners and critics searching out puerile comedy which treats them like grown-ups. “Post Sachsgate, I think most normal people have felt patronised by the dilution and weakening of comedy. They can find comedy with balls in live comedy clubs and on the internet. Downloaded shows give people the freedom to choose. If you don’t like it you don’t have to listen to it, but also the broadcaster is not employed by anyone and so can not be ‘sacked’. It makes for a much more fertile ground for creating comedy without having to second guess possible ‘moral outrage’.”
HERRING is hopeful that the costs of the show will be funded by the live audience who will pay £10 each to watch the recording. “If I can sell 400 tickets a week I will actually make about the same amount of money as I would by doing a radio show for the BBC. If I can sell 100 tickets then I should at least break even. It’s really not about the money though, which is probably lucky, it’s about creating something funny that I can be proud of. And taking the risk. There’s every chance with such a fast turnaround that it might be shit.”
HERRING will be joined by comedy actors DAN TETSELL and EMMA KENNEDY for all ten shows which will be recorded at the Leicester Square Theatre. The success or failure of this audacious project depends entirely on the patronage of comedy fans.
“My ultimate goal is to create an internet empire putting out sketch shows, stand up, sitcoms and films which will destroy television and radio as broadcast media. But for the moment it would just be nice if a few people turned up to watch on a Monday night.”
As It Occurs To Me is at the Leicester Square Theatre every Monday from 12th October to 14th December 2009 Box Office: 0844 847 2475 or www.leicestersquaretheatre.com
For more information please contact Ben Nolan or Dan Lloyd on: 020 7598 7222 / benn@avalonuk.com or danl@avalonuk.com
WHAT THE PRESS SAID ABOUT…
…HITLER MOUSTACHE:
“A really excellent comedy show: a playful, pointed and often bitterly funny attack on racism… stimulating, passionate, and thoroughly entertaining.”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
“Superbly constructed and wickedly clever.”
Stephanie Merritt, The Observer
“Surely his most passionate Fringe hour to date... a master of his form.”
Brian Donaldson, The List
“A beautifully crafted and thought-provoking show.”
Veronica Lee, The Sunday Telegraph
“Another hit for his solid back catalogue.”
Julian Hall, The Independent
“The most talked about show on the fringe.”
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
“An absolute Fringe must-see.”
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard
“A funny and often challenging look at liberal hubris, the intent of ‘offensive’ gags, and a condemnation of the bigots. Vote with your feet, and see it.”
Steve Bennett, Chortle
“Political comedy at its most effective and questioning, and should be a defining show of this year's Fringe.”
Louise Ridley, Time Out
“An intelligent, brave and brilliant show.”
Ariadne Cass-Maran, The Skinny
“Such a strong show, impassioned, emotive and clever. One of the shows that this year’s Fringe will be remembered for.”
Ian Phillips, The National Student
“One of the greatest stand-up routines I have seen.”
Joe Daniels, Scotsgay
“Herring continues to grow as a comic and is fast carving himself a niche in British stand-up that has already become a Fringe highlight and will likely see him soon as a household name.”
Graeme Strachan, The British Theatre Guide
“A very powerful, extremely funny show.”
Paul Fleckney, London is Funny
…THE HEADMASTER’S SON:
“In years to come [Richard Herring] will be remembered as the best comic of his generation mastering every comedic art form - writing bestselling books, performing in award winning stand-up shows, writing and starring in primetime ITV1 comedy dramas. He is a one-man comedy tornado, ripping up every comedic outlet that crosses his path.”
James Mullinger, GQ
“One of Britain's best stand-ups.”
Si Hawkins, Metro
“Herring is one of the Fringe's reliable comic pleasures… Undercutting the heartfelt with the puerile wouldn't impress the headmaster. But it spells fine comedy for the rest of us.”
Brian Logan, The Guardian
“Laughs pepper this wry monologue. Herring has a sharp tongue and can weave a yarn, whether recalling youthful crushes or imagining an encounter between his young and old selves…A glowing pass with no help from dad.”
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard
“Probably Herring’s finest show to date in a career already littered with great shows. In an attempt to work out why he is who he is, this fine comedian goes back to his memories of school. Brilliant.”
Tim Arthur, Time Out
“A comedy trouper at the top of his game.”
Warren Howard, ‘The Information’ The Independent
“Herring’s teenage diary entries are highly amusing and prove to be comedy gold, banked at an early age. Boisterous and full of bonhomie, Herring’s self-deprecating humour is infectious and he’s solid without ever being too predictable. Not only is The Headmaster’s Son funny but there’s a certain charming poignancy about a near middle-aged man looking back to his childhood and facing up to it. A man with a finger in many pies, including Radio 4 documentaries, an ITV comedy drama and columns in the New Statesman, Herring’s a jack of all trades and a master of one - namely stand up.”
Julian Hall, Virgin Hotline
“As glorious as anything Herring has done. He hits the ground running with an inspired and abrasive routine about Jesus’s ascencion to Heaven, before presenting a flurry of ideas about the child being the father of the man.”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
“His teenage diaries are gut-clenchingly funny and demand instant publication.”
Stephen Armstrong, The Sunday Times
“He’s still a master of the scholarly approach to crudity (watch out for an elegant treatise on the correct playground hand gestures to symbolise different types of sexual activity). But he also pushes himself, teasing his crowd by stretching material seemingly beyond its elastic limit.”
James Kettle, ‘The Guide’ The Guardian
“Seasoned stand-up from one of the form’s best.”
Andrew Lowry, Shortlist
“Somehow, though, he holds it all together. The show is about his childhood, and some of the odd little vignettes are both hilarious and strangely touching. The best come when he reads through his teenage diary, allowing him to mock his own adolescent bombast and self-pity with wounding accuracy…he has written a charming, warm, funny show with some splendid surrealist asides.”
Tom Chivers, Daily Telegraph (online)
“This year, we're treated to a comedian who has matured, both in content and performance…Herring's dip into the psyche of the sex-obsessed male teenager is top-notch comedy fodder…The Headmaster's Son is a tantalising mix of humour, charm and depth.”
Liz Rawlings, Fest
“Packed full of laughs.”
The Scotsman
“Herring relives crushing formative experiences and teenage embarrassments - for pleasing comic effect.”
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
“Herring is effortlessly engaging.”
Nadine McBay, Metro
“Sharp and witty.”
Marissa Burgess, The List
“He is one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy. If there is any justice in the world, and no doubt both the 40 and the 16 year old Richards would tell you there was not, then this show will be sold out every night.”
Graeme Strachan, The British Theatre Guide
“Along with some eye-watering, completely unrepeatable passages, Herring delivered an effusively warm and good natured reminiscence on lost youth.”
Neil McEwan, Edinburgh Evening News
“Though not offensive, he does border on the disgusting, but in such a terrifically funny and witty way that he can be forgiven. A stage comedy expert, Herring's foray into his former childhood innocence is hilarious, thought provoking and thoroughly recommended.”
Richard Hanrahan, Three Weeks
“Herring conjures up his teen self - a mix of pomposity and awkwardness - with passion, wit and authenticity.”
Sharon Lougher, Metro
“We’ve all heard comedians blaming their parents for how they’ve turned out. But none do it quite as eloquently as Richard Herring.”
London Lite
…OH FUCK, I’M 40!:
“A well-crafted blend of midlife crisis and smart observational comedy. His tale of taking part in the most pathetic pub brawl ever seen is worth the price of admission alone.”
Stephen Armstrong, ‘Culture’ Sunday Times
“A very funny stand up set...While Herring may fear his imminent (supposed) descent, we might as well savour the vantage point from his current comic peak.”
Brian Logan, The Guardian
“As a comedian he is at his peak.”
Bruce Dessau, The Evening Standard
“He wastes no time alchemising his own misery into comedy gold.”
Christopher Collett, Metro
“His writing is as smart and effective as always.”
Steve Bennett, Chortle
“There is nothing one-dimensional about Herring’s wit. Herring may be over the hill in the traditional sense, but Oh f*ck, I’m 40! marks a comic coming-of-age which cannot be written off.”
Alison Lutton, Fest magazine
“He had the whole house roaring with laughter…the more Herring ups the ante, the more thoughtful you realise he becomes.”
Nick Awde, The Stage
…MENAGE A UN:
“One of Britain’s smartest solo comedians.”
William Cook, The Guardian
“Richard Herring's show takes self-mockery to heart-warming new levels.”
Stephen Armstrong, Sunday Times
“This is smart stand-up proving that other people's failure is the surefire stuff of comedy success.”
Brian Logan, The Guardian
“This thoughtful Herring is still a big fish on stage.”
Sharon Lougher, Metro
“Herring simply improves with age…If being by yourself produces this kind of entertainment, Herring should be confined to his own company indefinitely.”
Brian Donaldson, The List
“Herring produces some of the most inventive, original and funny stand-up at the festival. In the glossy, free programme, he ponders why he keeps coming back to Edinburgh year after year. One answer must surely be: ‘because he’s good at it’.”
Steve Bennett, Chortle
“The real stars of the Edinburgh Festival aren’t the comics who turn up twice, win a sackful of awards and vanish onto TV. The true stars are the acts who keep pitching up, year after year, not to try and get on the telly, but to try out something new. Richard Herring is one of those stars.”
William Cook, The Guardian
“Brave and thought-provoking stand up.”
Les Dennis, The Daily Telegraph
…SOMEONE LIKES YOGHURT:
“His new show, Someone Likes Yoghurt, was inspired by a supermarket visit where the checkout person made a sarcastic comment about his penchant for milk-based desserts. Only a truly gifted neurotic could get so much material from such a minor slight.”
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard
“Clever, contrived and often quite silly.”
Marissa Burgess, Metro
“Irritating, relentless, pathetic, petty, pedantic, arrogant, embarrassing, pointless and endlessly funny.”
Stewart Lee, The Sunday Times
“Brilliant… A triumphant experiment in the art of tedium.”
Sam Friedman, Fest
…THE TWELVE TASKS OF HERCULES TERRACE:
“Richard Herring hasn't just written a new show for this year's Fringe, he's started a new religion… Herring has taken the researching and writing a one-hour comedy show to its extreme and the gods should justly reward him.”
Shona Craven, Metro
“Triumphantly funny.”
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard
“Herring has a confidence and affability which instantly draws you in.”
Gordon Eldrett, The List
“For a show that's ostensibly about depression, this is a remarkably feel good night out. Mainly, of course, because Herring conquered his demons, but also because of the jaunty, playful touch he brings to this impressively well-constructed show. Make it your task to catch it.”
Steve Bennett, Chortle
…TALKING COCK:
“It is the avowedly funny Talking Cock that in the end produces more serious food for thought than all the platitudes of The Vagina Monologues. Herring is a good enough comedian to make you see men, with all their obsessions and oddities, differently.”
Sarah Crompton, The Daily Telegraph
“The show is funny, humiliating, impassioned and weird in equal parts. It’s his best work to date. If we gave stars, he’d have lots.”
Stephen Armstrong, The Sunday Times
“His Cock is as funny and fascinating for women as it is for men. I loved it. I only wished it could have been longer.”
Kate Copstick, The Scotsman
RICHARD HERRING
In the 1990s RICHARD HERRING was in the prodigious double act LEE & HERRING, who created the cult hit BBC TWO shows Fist of Fun and This Morning With Richard Not Judy. He was one of the team behind the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series On The Hour. More recently he has written and starred in ITV1’s hit comedy drama You Can Choose Your Friends, and BBC Radio 2’s That Was Then, This Is Now. A busy year has seen RICHARD: sell-out the full Edinburgh run of his critically acclaimed show Hitler Moustache; take his Chortle Award nominated show The Headmaster’s Son on a hugely successful national tour and two-week London run; present a new documentary series Bad Habits on BBC Radio 4; continue to host The Collings and Herrin Podcast with broadcaster and writer ANDREW COLLINS, which entered the iTunes top 20 podcast chart when released; and appear as a panellist on BBC TWO’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
