Though he’s got a very unassuming visage, a bit like a seedy high school English teacher or a dysfunctional bank clerke, you probably shouldn’t underestimate the comedy might of Richard Herring, who will be kicking off his new stand-up comedy tour, Happy Now, later this year. Yes he’s got rosie cheeks and there’s something slightly poisson-like about the eyes, but he knows how to write great comedy, which is why his new material is going to be one of the must-watch shows of the year for us.
The gigs are due to start for the tour with warm up, work in progress slots from the 14th July 2015 at Ye Olde Rose And Crown Theatre pub in Walthamdow, before going on to preview at The Drayton in Ealing on the 29th July 2015. The full tour dates (see below) will then kick off at the Star Of Kings in Kings Cross on the 1st August 2015, running throughout August, September and October, calling in at Manchester and Brighton along the way.
Following a wintery hibernation throughout November, December and January, the little jumper wearing, foraging bear of a man will be back between February and early June 2016 with yet more Happy Now tour dates. This will be the most extensive portion of the tour with stop offs throughout the UK, taking in the heady sights and sounds of Birminghan, Edinburgh, Stoke-On-Trent, Cardiff, Bristol and Winchester to name but a few.
The show itself is Richard Herring’s opus to the domesticated man now that he’s finally married and fathered a young baby, following years of feckless solitude travelling the UK on his previous 11 major UK tours. The big question he’s set himself, though, is whether or not he’s happy now that his life has newfound meaning, purpose and responsibility, but more than that to dissect the very possibility of contentment in a world in which happiness only exists in the context of comparative glee stacked up against moments of unhappiness.
That sounds a hell of a lot more serious than it probably is in all fairness, so don’t expect a lecture on the meaning of life, especially if you look at the long history of abject silliness in Richard Herring’s back catalogue. However, there will be musings on our obsessively pessimistic nature, expecting the worst to befall us even when things seem fine, and whether or not Rich has lost his comedy mojo now that he’s no longer a depressed transient cynically mocking the world around him.
For anyone not up on their British comedy history, Herring is one of the great unsung heroes, having contributed to everything from On The Hour to the very formation of Alan Partridge. He spent nearly two decades double teaming radio and then stand-up comedy with Stewart Lee and apparently finished second on Celebrity Mastermind with a specialist subject of the Russian mystic mentalist, Rasputin. If that isn’t enough to make it worth your while to go to see one of the Happy Now UK tour dates then you’re not worth bothering with. RASPUTIN!!!
Richard Herring Happy Now UK tour dates:
Tue 14th July 2015 – Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre Pub Walthamstow (work in progress)
Wed 15th July 2015 – Chapel Bar Islington (work in progress)
Thu 16th July 2015 – Cambridge Junction (work in progress) – 01223 511 511
Fri 24th July 2015 – Balham Bedford (work in progress)
Tue 28th July 2015 – Half Moon Putney (work in progress)
Wed 29th July 2015 – The Drayton Ealing (work in progress)
Sat 1st August 2015 – Star of King’s Kings Cross (afternoon work in progress)
Thu 6th August 2015 – Phoenix Fringe Oxford Circus (work in progress)
Tue 25th August 2015 – Good Ship, Kilburn (work in progress)
Wed 9th September 2015 – Norden Farm, Maidenhead (Happy Now preview)
Sat 12th September 2015 – Leicester Square Theatre – 08448733 433
Wed 7th October 2015 – Manchester Frog and Bucket – 0161 236 9805
Fri 23rd October 2015 – Brighton Comedy Festival The Old Market – 01273 201 801
Sat 24th October 2015 – Havant Spring Arts Centre – 023 9247 2700
Thu 11th February 2016 – London Leicester Square Theatre – 0844 8733 433
Fri 12th February 2016 – London Leicester Square Theatre – 0844 8733 433
Sat 13th February 2016 – London Leicester Square Theatre – 08448733 433
Wed 17th February 2016 – Sheffield City Hall Memorial Hall – 0114 2789 789
Thu 18th February 2016 – Leeds City Varieties – 0113 243 0808
Fri 19th February 2016 – Salford Quays The Lowry – 0843 208 6000
Sat 20th February 2016 – Liverpool Epstein Theatre – 0844 888 4411
Thu 3rd March 2016 – Warwick Arts Centre – 024 7652 4524
Fri 4th March 2016 – Oxford The Glee Club – 0871 472 0400
Sat 5th March 2016 – Northampton Royal & Derngate – 01604 624811
Thu 10th March 2016 – Croydon Fairfield Halls – 020 8688 9291
Fri 11th March 2016 – Exeter Northcott Theatre – 01392 493 493
Sat 12th March 2016 – Colchester Arts Centre – 01206 500900
Tue 15th March 2016 – Birmingham Glee – 0871 472 0400
Wed 16th March 2016 – Edinburgh The Stand – 0131 558 7272
Thu 17th March 2016 – Glasgow Citizens Theatre – 0141 429 0022
Fri 18th March 2016 – York Barbican – 0844 854 2757
Sat 19th March 2016 – Norwich Playhouse – 01603 598598
Wed 23rd March 2016 – Chorley Little Theatre – 01257 264362
Thu 24th March 2016 – Lincoln Performing Arts – 01522 837600
Fri 25th March 2016 – Wolverhampton Civic Hall – 0870 320 7000
Sat 26th March 2016 – Reading South Street – 0118 960 6060
Wed 30th March 2016 – Canterbury The Gulbenkian – 01227 769075
Thu 31st March 2016 – Aldershot West End Centre – 01252 330040
Fri 1st April 2016 – Swindon Arts Centre – 01793 524 481
Sat 2nd April 2016 – Milton Keynes The Stables – 01908 280800
Fri 8th April 2016 – Shrewsbury Theatre Severn – 01743 281281
Sat 9th April 2016 – Stafford Gatehouse Theatre – 01785 619080
Sun 10th April 2016 – Newcastle The Stand – 0191 300 9700
Mon 11th April 2016 – Hanley The Glee Club – 0871 472 0400
Tue 12th April 2016 – Cardiff St David’s Hall – 029 2087 8500
Thu 14th April 2016 – Wycombe Swan Town Hall – 01494 512 000
Fri 15th April 2016 – St Albans The Alban Arena – 01727 844488
Sat 16th April 2016 – Folkestone Quarterhouse – 01303 760750
Sun 17th April 2016 – Bristol Old Vic – 0117 987 7877
Thu 21st April 2016 – Brighton Komedia – 0845 293 8480
Fri 22nd April 2016 – Bath Komedia – 0845 293 8480
Sat 23rd April 2016 – Crawley The Hawth Theatre – 01293 553636
Sun 24th April 2016 – Nottingham The Glee Club – 0871 472 0400
Thu 28th April 2016 – Cheltenham Town Hall – Pillar Room – 0844 576 2210
Fri 29th April 2016 – Sutton The Secombe – 020 3771 9055
Sat 30th April 2016 – Winchester Theatre Royal – 01962 840440
Fri 3rd June 2016 – London The Bloomsbury Theatre – 020 3108 1000
Sat 4th June 2016 – London The Bloomsbury Theatre – 020 3108 1000
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