Comedy Review by Graeme Connelly
Edinburgh Fringe legend Richard Herring talks about death through the medium of life- what could possibly go wrong?
Nothing. This is the perfect example of how it should be done.
The instant the show begins it’s clear that this is the work of a consummate professional and every single line, pause and smile was dropped perfectly and expertly into place.
Everyone is going to die, as Herring insisted on pointing out to several audience members before he got going. He then went on to discuss the taboos about death, the afterlife and the before the afterlife. Calling on such classics as Hamlets soliloquy and “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Flyâ€, he deftly went about dissecting and ridiculing one of the finest pieces of literature in the English language.
Herring has some very interesting ideas about what may lie in wait for us after death but we will be very lucky indeed to find him in our comedy heaven. He delivers massive laughs from start to end and manages to take sensitive topics and let us see the ridiculousness of them without actually having to say it himself.
The entire set was a pleasure to behold and felt crafted, with every little part meticulously engineered to fit into the whole and carefully polished to shine perfectly. Richard Herring is genuinely a master craftsman of comedy.
If you only get to see one show at this year’s Fringe, make it this master class of stand-up.
