Master comedian and podcasting pioneer Richard Herring speaks with David Griffiths about happiness, philosophy, and freedom.
Since first coming to the public’s attention in the early 90s as one half of comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee), Richard Herring has been one of the best stand-up comedians in the UK (if not always one of the most famous). Every year for the last 12 years Herring has written a new hour long stand up show. His latest show is Happy Now? and I started by asking Herring if he could explain the premise behind this new show. Predictably, he explained, it’s about whether he is happy now.
“The show is about whether I am happy now, which is the ultimate question. Over the course of the last 12 shows I’ve done I’ve had a few ups and downs, and I’ve been depressed and angry and then met my wife and settled down a bit, had a baby, and so it’s asking whether I am happy, and about whether it’s possible to be happy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwyUf0OlBsM
“It’s about punishment: because if you are happy you worry about being happy. It’s also about whether contentment is a desirable thing for a comedian, and whether parenthood makes you less dark or more dark. I think it makes you more dark. Some people think comedians lose their edge when they become mothers or fathers, but I don’t think that’s really true.
“It’s also a philosophical look at what the nature of happiness is, and why it’s desirable, whether it’s possible to choose to be happy. A lot of it is personal, but I like to ask questions in my shows, and make people think about stuff. But there’s also lots of stuff about sex with robots, and funny nursery rhymes.”
Alongside his stand up shows Herring also produces his Leicester Square Theatre podcasts where he interviews other comedians. Does he see himself as trying to create a new way of doing comedy?
“In a way the podcast is a new way of doing comedy, and it seems weird to me that young people aren’t embracing it more. I think they are starting to, but I feel that if I was 15 or 20 years younger I could get further with it. Things are so cheap to make now, that a podcast is only going to cost you your time to make. You don’t need to go through the traditional routes of trying to get on the radio, or trying to get on the TV. You can do it yourself. If you create good stuff and get it out there, people will see it, people will retweet it, and you can build up an audience that way.
“It’s frustrating trying to get stuff on radio or TV because either people are asking you to do something that you don’t want to do, or they change it so much that it’s no longer what you wanted to do. So to be able to do what I want and accidently come up with this model that people like is great. I put everything out for free, so if people like my stuff then they can come and see me when I’m on tour and that pays for itself. It wasn’t a business plan that I sat down and wrote one day. I’ve been doing the podcast for the last 8 years, and those 8 years have gone very well for me, so I’m happy to carry on making a living and doing some interesting stuff.
“I think if I had to choose one thing I would choose stand up, because I love doing stand-up you’ve got the immediacy, you’ve got the audience there, it’s a creative thing. I need to perform, so it ticks all the boxes. But luckily I don’t have to do just one thing. I like doing podcasts. I like writing scripts. I like doing slightly more serious stuff.”
With all of these projects Herring is still one of the best stand ups in the country and his new show looks set to be one of his best. And, who knows, perhaps Richard Herring finally is Happy Now.
Richard Herring: Happy Now, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Tue 12 Apr. Tickets: £15. Info: 029 2087 8500 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk