Richard Herring

Ask The Expert: Chris Evans (Not That One)

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Chris Evans is the founder of the film production and distribution company, Go Faster Stripe. From Stewart Lee to Seymour Mace, Go Faster Stripe has produced a huge variety of live comedy recordings, and the company continues to grow its catalogue each year.

MoodyComedy chatted to Chris to find out more…

Hello Chris! How did Go Faster Stripe begin?

Hello. Thanks for asking me to do this – but I am hardly an expert. We started as a bit of a ridiculous dream. I read somewhere that Stewart Lee was having trouble getting his show recorded for DVD. I had seen the show, and I thought it was ridiculous that no one wanted to film it. 

At that time I was working in a little arts centre in Cardiff and as I was wandering through the theatre one afternoon I thought that it would make a great venue for a DVD recording. A couple of days later – in the bath – I remembered I had a couple of mates that were cameramen, and I knew a chap who was handy with his sound recording equipment. So – by chance – I had all the components in place to record Stew’s show, and I wrote to him and told him. To my huge surprise and absolute delight he agreed to come down. 

We filmed the show, and then we surprised ourselves again when it came out rather well. So Go Faster Stripe was formed to release it. I had a pint with Stew to celebrate, and he suggested I got in touch with Richard Herring to ask if he had anything he’d like us to record. And then it all went from there. I now have my dream job. I am very lucky.

Where did your love of comedy originate?

I don’t know. I mean we all like a laugh, don’t we? I had a friend from school that shared my love of comedy. We used to record Radio 4 comedy shows and were hungry for any laughs we could get our hands on. We used to go to the bookshop in Cardiff and browse their comedy book section. Now I’m thinking about it, I think I was just after funny things to say to my friends in school. You know, so I could be popular. We all want to be popular, don’t we?

© Chris Evans

Who do you most enjoy watching perform?

I enjoy watching people comfortable in what they are doing. I love the likes of Tony Law and Simon Munnery – you can tell immediately that neither of them are copying anyone else. And that they’ve evolved their own styles.

Why do you continue to do what you do?

This is my perfect job.  I wouldn’t change it for anything. I try and keep things sustainable, and not risk too much on any daft projects, whilst at the same time making sure I get involved in daft projects.

What element of your work are you most proud of?

I’m over the moon that I’ve managed to save some excellent shows for future generations. And I like to think that we’ve done it with a little bit of style. I like that we’ve managed to get our DVDs jam packed with loads of extras and hidden stuff. 

Oh, and I’m really proud of a Robin Ince DVD we made that plays in a different random order every time you put it on. It took ages to get that to work.

VISIT GO FASTER STRIPE HERE

ASK THE EXPERT…

Review: Richard Herring – The Best

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Richard Herring is showcasing the best of his material from the last twelve shows, after revisiting them all for one-off performances in 2015. The aim is to represent each of the various aspects of his comedy style equally: a summary of the past sixteen years for the comic; a smorgasbord of Richard Herring, if you will.

The show is at Cardiff’s St David’s Hall, and I attend on behalf of Quench Magazine. Herring is undeniably on top form. Cheeky as ever and ironic to the point of almost dangerous territory offence-wise, it is clear that here we have a comedian who knows how to kindle some form of response from his audience. But Herring fans know his game. We know that there is no spite. Intellectual frustration, yes, paired with an inclination towards causing mischief, but this comedian is certainly a safe pair of (outrageously small) hands.

Richard Herring: The Best

For those of us who are only aware of Richard’s work through his Leicester Square Theatre Podcast or the As It Occurs To Me podcast (perhaps those who weren’t watching all that much comedy in late 1990s, due to being a toddler, so didn’t witness Lee and Herring in their peak of double-act acclaim), it may be true that our discernment of Herring’s stand up style is relatively limited.

Now, I’ve heard the ridiculously imaginative and crude ‘emergency questions’ that feature on RHLSTP, and yet still find myself a little surprised to hear how conceptual and whimsical Richard’s material can become. The comedian takes a concept grounded in his own reality (such as the first Valentines’ day he shared with his wife) before teasing the idea until it balloons up into something of its own entirely. And there’s such an energy pushing these ideas forward that audiences find it impossible not to be swept up in the ludicrous nature of it all.

Herring is also an extremely experienced constructor of comedy narratives, which is no doubt the result of those countless years spent assembling shows for the Edinburgh Festival and touring them nationwide. The message is one of development, whether that refers to within Herring himself over the past sixteen years, or the stability he has found in getting married and starting a family. The most notable aspect for me is the realisation that this show really has heart.

A great deal of Herring’s projects are crowd-funded, so, charitable as ever, each audience member is treated to a free tour show programme. There is a real communal effort driving this comedy forward, which is something I’ve seen nothing quite like before. Herring warns us that ‘the best doesn’t mean it’s good, it just means it’s the least worst’, but I can confirm that Herring is in fact quite close to the best (maybe ranking just after Stewart Lee).

DVD copies of Richard Herring’s latest solo shows, as well as copies of the first series of Fist of Fun are available at Go Faster Stripe.

Podcast Review: Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast

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When Richard Herring shouts “RHLSTP!” to his audience at the Leicester Square Theatre, they holler it back instantaneously, and at twice the volume. It immediately becomes clear that I’ve stumbled across a society, a cult, and something that I want to be a part of.

Beginning the podcast in 2012, Herring has now hosted over fifty interviews of at least an hour per episode. With a rich array of popular guests, ranging from the wave of newer, trendy comics like James Acaster, Sara Pascoe and Katherine Ryan, to the classics, including Steve Coogan and Tim Minchin, this podcast has something for everyone, be that comedy-obsessive, like me, or not. Herring is an expert. He combines his sometimes childish nature with excellent wit, sarcasm and often surrealism in a perfect balance that enables viewers and listeners to be educated as well as entertained. Both he and his guests clearly enjoy the discussions they have, and in turn, I thoroughly enjoy listening to them, and will continue to do so until there are no episodes left to hear.

richard herring

If you are looking for in depth insight into the comedy industry, I recommend you start with Sara Pascoe’s interview. I also particularly enjoyed her episode because I think she is an incredibly interesting person, with a great philosophy about her which I could listen to all day long. As with these podcasts, if you don’t normally listen to them, it is so important that you listen to the ones with comics you don’t know as well as the ones with people you do. This works to both the comic’s benefit and your’s, by enabling listeners to be introduced to new names. And there are so many new names.

Despite these podcasts already working on the basis of paying whatever you want to, whatever you think the show deserves, and whatever you are able to pay: in yet another act of generosity, Richard has decided to release the latest batch of RHLSTP episodes as videos on Youtube, which are normally only available to paying listeners. As a person who can’t afford to pay for these podcasts right now, I feel it is only right to spread the word about these hidden gems of the internet. They’re perfect for long car journeys or to fill time when you should be working, and they also teach us a great deal about the secrets of the industry. We even get some gossip, which is always a plus in my book.

You can, and should, listen to and download Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast via his website, or on iTunes. It would also be brilliant if all of you that are able to could pay something towards the running of the show.