Richard Herring - What is Love Anyway?

Avalon Promotions

Udderbelly

****

The self proclaimed King of Edinburgh returns for another year, after tackling school, Hitler and Jesus, he has turned his comic wit and gaze upon that last most eternal question, What is Love? Having set himself such a task, it's only a brief respite before Herring throws himself into self-depricating stories from his youth as well as examples of different kinds of love.

It's great to see Herring back to his usual form, as the last few years saw him veering notably towards the polemic rather than the straight up laugh. Instead this year he's back on top form with some of the best material of his career. What became apparent throughout is what has been notably absent from the last two years has been the sort of genuinely emotive feeling that came with his earlier work about growing up and his relationship with his father. In this case it are his feelings for his ageing grandmother that truly bring the audience in, as the comedy when suffused with a hint of sadness brings an unexpected tenderness to the reflections and makes the punchlines hit all the harder. This year, truly, the King has returned.

Graeme Strachan