During the Fringe, a haven for ill equipped hastily prepared venues, it can be reassuring to witness a comedy show at a place dedicated to stand up all year round. The Stand has comedy pedigree that gives the audience confidence in what they are about to see, and Richard Herring shared in it as he addressed the crowd. The very best comedians have an ability to be funny whether their jokes work on the crowd or not. Herring’s scripted material received a somewhat lacklustre response after the punch lines, but his analysing of the situation and questioning of the crowd’s reaction was extremely amusing, suggesting that he never had any doubt he was funny.
Self-assurance such as this does not come overnight, and this podcast celebrates the comedian’s 25th anniversary at the Fringe. Each day, Herring plays the affable irreverent host to many festival highlights including Susan Calman, Al Murray, Sarah Millican and this time Nina Conti. With a little bit of his own stuff at the beginning, Herring soon introduces his guest comedian for the day and they chat very casually about their show, Edinburgh in general and anything else which happens to come up. The main reason for it is so the performers can shamelessly plug their own shows, but with acts of this quality you can forgive this and just enjoy the comedians in this relaxed environment. There is a fear that however funny someone is on stage they might be intensely dull in person, but Herring is fantastic at keeping the conversation flowing and amusing, even if he does like to remind you of his connection to Stewart Lee at any available opportunity.
Along with the main guest, there is also a brief bit of stand up each show from one of the lesser known rising stars of the comedy world. If Christian Reilly, who performed some very sharp musical material, is typical of the calibre of these acts then this a real treat; a cherry on top of an already delicious delight.
