Richard Herring “Someone likes yoghurt” DVD

“Someone likes Yoghurt” is a recent DVD offering from comic Richard Herring who found fame as Stewart Lee’s less comic half in comic partnership Lee and Herring in the 90’s.

Filmed in Cardiff Chapter Arts Centre, Herring delivers an extended lesson in the trivial.  This is Herring’s return to stand up comedy after 13 years, he had still maintained a comic presence though with several years of television appearances, becoming a script editor for “Little Britain” and remaining a leading fringe figure.

Herring embraces the bizarre and the controversial in this stand up act, after kicking off his routine by declaring Writer Rudyard Kipling “a fucking idiot”, he talks at great and detailed length about what a “really stupid name” Rudyard is for longer than is necessary or funny, though by his own admittance Herring likes to start the show with “his weakest material”. Unfortunately what becomes apparent throughout the act is that Herring has difficulty maintaining a joke, and does not seem to know when is appropriate to switch topics before becoming tedious, judging by a variety of indifferent faces in the audience.

Ironically Herring has previously declared that what he hates is “is when someone takes a joke and stretches it way beyond its natural lifespan.” This, however seems to be the entire concept of the show as he talks us through various banal topics including his ideas for a ‘magpie lottery system’ where he advocates that there should be a reward system for spotting magpies, for over 20 never ending minutes.

Whilst there are some amusing moments in the act including how he applied for the position of Pope in 2005 and various funny insights, he strays into too obvious controversial topics including bestiality where he explored ideas such as ‘monkey rape’ before moving swiftly on to paedophilia.

Despite some inherent flaws though Herring does manage to make people laugh, albeit often uncomfortably, at a variety of inconsequential subjects and successfully make several audience members positively squirm during some discussions, including women “menstruating all over the place”. Not the best comedy offering at present but certainly not the worst.