I’m not usually a huge fan of a lot of female comedians, ( this is probably not how you expected me to start a review of Richard Herrings comedy show but stick with me ) This may sound a terrible thing to say against my own gender but as a rule I usually don’t find them that funny. There are exceptions of course, and luckily for me support act Catie Wilkins is one of those exceptions. She is both endearing in character and incredibly, incredibly funny. From musing over whether the fact that her middle name is Joy is the reason that she has gone into comedy

( conclusion : that would just be ridiculous!) to the hilarious take on the ‘yo mama jokes’ she has the audience roaring with laughter. As its a preview show she tells us that she is still working on the ‘nuts and bolts’ (fantastic methaphor considering what is coming next ) of what will link the topics but even so she has managed to win me over so much so that i just had to mention her here and shes also made it so that I am no longer a traitor to my gender. Good work girl !

So onto tonight’s main attraction, and the first thing to note is that Richard Herring is a smart cookie. To get the core material for the new show he has asked his public for answers via a questionnaire on his website. Smart move, he’s getting his public to do the graft. Genius! The second smart move he makes is the fact that the subject matter is male genitalia. Random strangers tales about men’s dangly bits will surely be comedy gold ….and sure enough it is.

As Richard explains to us the show is called ‘Talking Cock‘ and it’s his version of the Vagina Monologues. He says that he saw a gap in the market and he couldn’t resist the male urge to fill it. He informs us not to get any ideas of it being like a ‘puppetry of the penis’ type of show but warns us that if things are going incredibly bad – or conversely, exceptionally fantastic – that he may resort to those tactics!

Theres talk of how in his younger years he was able to get an erection at the drop of a hat, but that now he needs hundreds of hats all precariously placed and each one more depraved than the last……we are barely 10 minutes into the show and my sides already ache. I’m hoping I’ll last to the end of the show and remembering that the last time I saw a comedian, I laughed so hard and for so long that the woman in front of me thought I was having an asthma attack. How do you say to someone I’m rejecting your offer of medical help because I just happen to laugh like a hiccuping hyena?

Obviously there’s varied and constantly hilarious tales from answers on the questionnaire, one of the main causes of hilarity being the ‘where is the strangest place you have put your penis’ …..I nearly choked on my drink at more than one of the answers to that one, which will obviously teach me to time my liquid refreshments better next time. All I’m saying is it involved jelly and a toilet roll, and the other referred to a holiday romance….To get the answers in their full side aching glory you’ll have to hunt down a ticket for one of his shows.

Stories of schoolboy weeing competitions follow, and then the inevitable question of ‘is size important?’ finally comes up (if you pardon the pun) …… I won’t tell you the all the answers here…ive given away far too much information as it is but if this preview show

( and it’s unbelievable to think that it’s is a preview show as it is so slick and professional – I’m guessing the audience are pinching themselves at getting the ticket at such a bargain price) is anything to go buy this will be a comedy show that gets talked about for years to come – This is bound to be a hit Show/ Book / DVD ….all of the above. Especially as after the show Herring is selling books DVDs etc and the queue is snaking round the room, and then some.

Miss this show at your peril, drink responsibly and by that I mean make sure you’ve finished way before he delivers the punch line and perhaps wear a T-shirt saying ‘ I’m not asthmatic I’ve just got a really stupid laugh’ . Just to avoid any unnecessary interventions from over enthusiastic people in neighbouring seats.