Time Out review of Talking Cock

Richard Herring – Talking Cock: The Second Coming, Underbelly Bristo Square, 8.15pm, ★★★★☆
Go into Richard Herring’s slightly updated version of his 2002 hit expecting an hour of knob-gags and you’ll be both pleased and disappointed. Yes, there are plenty – some brilliant, some terrible – but there’s much more to Talking Cock than an ejaculation (sorry) of penis jokes. Herring describes the show as ‘man’s answer to the Vagina Monologues’: he’s set two anonymous questionnaires online – one for men, one for women – with the aim of discovering our true opinions of the ‘spam javelin’. Cock facts and statistics are mixed with slick pieces of sarky stand-up as Herring reveals the results of his survey and some of the most bizarre answers he’s received. Many of the silent worries men have about their wangs are openly discussed, but it wouldn’t be Herring’s place to give definitive answers on issues like the ‘size’ debate or whether men think with their dicks – this is simply a celebration of the penis, with Herring’s major message being to keep it clean, unlike this show See Richard Herring in London at the Bloomsbury Theatre, Apr 12-13 2012.