COMEDY | Interview list.co.uk/comedy
MEMBERS ONLY Richard Herring returns to the touchy subject of the male winkie for his latest touring show. But he assures Kelly Apter that it’s not just a stream of knob gags
R ichard Herring is feeling a bit fragile. g a bit fragile. alentine’s Day Hungover from a Valentine’s Day fore, he’s also celebration the night before, he’s also penchant for fending off a new cat with a penchant for hs. But it’s digging its claws into his thighs. But it’s ing about, not pussy I want to talk to Herring about, was first it’s cock. Ten years after he was first devoted inspired to write an entire show devoted haring a to the male member (it was sharing a ologues theatre with The Vagina Monologues ad with that did it), he’s back on the road with ing, and Talking Cock: The Second Coming, and s mouth everything that comes out of his mouth aning. seems to have an alternative meaning. ‘hard’ it Whether he’s telling me how ‘hard’ it material was to choose which research material y’ about to use, or questioning the ‘fallacy’ about lt not to race and penis size, it’s difficult not to dless of hear a double entendre, regardless of he show spelling. Primarily because the show ly chat, itself really is back-to-back willy chat, charged, though not in a testosterone-charged, at’s not balls in hand kind of way – that’s not sense of Herring’s style. There’s more a sense of even the ‘we’re all in it together’ – yes, even the females in the audience.
The key to Herring’s inclusivity is ivity is ns the the questionnaire that underpins the online show. Started ten years ago, the online male – surveys – one male, one female – 15,000 have now generated close to 15,000 nnaire replies. ‘I used the questionnaire ould be partly because I thought it would be face to embarrassing to talk to people face to ing. ‘But face about this,’ admits Herring. ‘But y of doing it turned out to be the best way of doing up when it’s it, because people really open up when it’s anonymous.’
And open up they have. Fairly standard airly standard and number of enquiries, such as penis length and number of more revealing sexual partners, sit alongside more revealing put your penis questions like ‘where have you put your penis questions that for fun?’ ‘There were some questions that ms of generating worked better than others, in terms of generating it gold with that material,’ says Herring. ‘But I hit gold with that could think of one. There was every place you could think of uld never have putting it – and places you would never have o that was quite thought of inserting anything. So that was quite ys to know that illuminating, and it’s nice for guys to know that toilet roll filled if they’ve put their penis into a toilet roll filled
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with jelly, they might not be the only one with jelly, who’s tri who’s tried it.’ Althou Although the laughs come thick and fast dur fast during the show, Herring wasn’t just inte just interested in showing the funny side of side of male private parts. It was, he says he says, a ‘balancing act’ to get the right m right mix of humour and ‘thoughtful, serious serious bits’. Some questionnaire respon responses, however, were just too painfu painful to include. ‘A few people opene opened up in a very vulnerable way and it and it would have felt wrong to use their s their stuff. People have had terrible things things happen to them, and I don’t think think a comedy show is the place to look i look into that.’ ‘There were ‘Th places you pla would never wo have thought have of inserting of ins anything’ anyth
But Herrin But Herring did find that topics such as penile injury penile injury, erectile dysfunction and size inadequacy ar inadequacy are better off out in the open. ‘I think men nee think men need this show because we don’t really talk abou really talk about the subject very seriously. So the best wa So the best way for us to think about it is to do jokes and to do jokes and then a little bit of truth and information sne information sneaks through. And hopefully it also helps wom also helps women understand men a little bit better.’ better.’ Richard Herring: Talking Cock – The Richard Herrin Second Comin Second Coming, Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, Mon Glasgow, Mon 25 Mar; The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue Edinburgh, Tue 26 Mar.