Written by Sarah Riddick | 16 August 2011

When comedy is so moving, so dimensional, and so bloody entertaining that it requires six bows to satiate the audience’s laudatory applause, you want to do it justice. Thus, I’ll admit I am daunted by the task of adequately conveying the pleasure I experienced at Richard Herring’s What is Love, Anyway?

Don’t worry: Herring has no intention of drilling a personal definition into you (though, a bit of, em, drilling, does fit into his).

“My ultimate aim with this show is to destroy love,” he announces. Despite this mission statement, this show is not the destruction of love, but rather a deconstruction of the now-cluttered concept.

A daunting task, no? Not for Herring, who more than lives up to his reputation in a show that will you have you feeling uplifted and positively uproarious as it oscillates seamlessly between illustrations of love’s playful yet poignant nature. Herring is especially successful because, while he may have a number of bones to pick with love, it is evident that any qualms he has are rooted in a deep respect for the subject at hand.

In an hour rife with origin stories and glitter, Herring deepens our perceptions of perhaps the one thing we truly thought we understood, eliciting belly laughs all the while.

“You’ve got to be selective with your love,” Herring insists. Well, Richard, we choose you.

Richard Herring: What is Love, Anyway? Cow Barn @ Udderbelly, 13-28 Aug, 8.50 pm