Matt Hoss, third year University of Kent Drama and Classics student, kindly reviews our first British Stand-Up Comedy Archive in conversation event:

On 8 April the Gulbenkian welcomed Richard Herring as he took part in the first interview of the University of Kent’s British Stand-Up Comedy Archive in-conversation events. Through laughter and cringe-worthy anecdotes, Herring signified why he is the one of the most influential comedians in the UK.

Richard Herring in the Gulbenkian Theatre in conversation with Olly Double.

Resident Doctor of Comedy, Oliver Double, humorously hosted the interview with Herring, showing a promising return to form despite his recent accident. The interview was relaxed, enjoyably paced and strikingly down-to-earth as Herring reveled in the details of his childhood and his working life, illustrating how much he has achieved. The discussion focused on Herring’s innovative work within the varied platforms of comedy, like his famed Sketch-show Fist of Fun, his thematic stand-up shows which dub him as the “King of Edinburgh” and his podcast series (which the cool kids call RHLSTP).

Nick Hiley (Head of Special Collections), Olly Double (Head of Drama) and Richard Herring

Herring contemplated upon his successes and failures through a certain chronology; starting with the early days of his radio comedy, through to the marathon run of his summer stand-up shows. He shined a light on the inner secrets of Stand-Up comedy, giving a glimpse into the nuts and bolts of the industry and how he formulates comedy, which accumulates to an endearing evening.

An audio recording of the event is available to subscribers of Richard’s RHLSTP podcast via Go Faster Stripe, and we will soon make some short extracts available via this blog.