Another mid-life crisis

In Richard Herring’s last full-length show, Ménage À Un, age and loneliness were playing on the mind of this devoted stand-up. Now, single, childless and 40, his midlife crisis has given him enough material for another hour. And Herring has made sure the sense of kidult desperation is a carefully crafted one, from the How Much Is Too Much? tag on his T-shirt, which hugs his portly frame, to the skateboard he can’t figure out how to use and the abundance of jokes about his
shallow pursuit of sex.

If you’ve enjoyed Herring’s previous stuff, rest assured he’s on familiar ground. And although that ground also includes a tendency to waffle, there are enough lively ideas to keep this show on track. Herring is at his best when toying with linguistic conventions or entertaining flights of fancy when he takes an idea at face value.

Don’t let the occasional dip put you off: Herring’s endearing comedy may not quite have aged like a vintage wine since he first popped into our consciousness with Stewart Lee on radio and TV’s Fist Of Fun but it’s still in fine fettle.
Until Sep 29, Arts Theatre, 6-7 Great Newport Street WC2, Tue to Sat 9.30pm, £12.50. Tel: 0844 847 1608. Tube: Covent Garden

Richard Herring: Oh F*ck, I'm 40!
Arts Theatre
Great Newport Street, WC2H 7JB