Caught Live: Richard Herring, Chorley Little Theatre

12:26pm Thursday 31st March 2011

* By Kimberley Hall »

Last year he was trying to attribute the Hitler moustache back to Charlie Chaplin, this year he's back and claiming to be the Messiah. Or is he?

The show entitled Christ on a Bike offers an intelligent and alternative delve into the physical impossibilities of bible stories, as Herring sees it, and refers to a dream he once had where he was in a bicycle race with Jesus. Obviously.

An insight into this man's brain is a precious thing, as proven by the crowd who tentatively enjoyed the show. One enthusiastic audience member did shout out 'again!' a couple of times like an over-excited Teletubby, but Herring acknowledged her little outburst, slightly bemused, before carrying on. As proved by the majority of the crowd, the show isn't really one for the hecklers; it just seemed out of place in the analytical journey through Herring's conclusions.

The comic entered into a couple of lengthy, ad-libbed monologues with God during the show. They went off on a complete tangent from the show, but were so well-rehearsed they had at least half the theatre fooled. More impressive though was how he picked up from the exact point he left off.

Herring doesn't mock (too much), he's aware that he might not be right, yet he has the confidence to put across some fairly conclusive evidence that the bible is, in many places, wrong.

Dressed to kill in a fetching suit, sandal and sock combo, he rhymed off a long passage of bible scripture which he then proclaims is a contradictory lie. All cleverly researched and put across, buying into his beliefs is irrelevant. It's the journey that you are required to follow, not the mindset.

More than worthy of a mention too are the programmes everyone receives free of charge, and at the end of every show Herring asks everyone if they will consider making a donation to his chosen charity Scope. His heartfelt request was the only serious part of the evening, and showed his decent and caring attributes. Maybe he is the Messiah after all. Of the comedy world at least.