Who do you think you are kidding, Richard Herring?
One of the most controversial comedy shows of recent times comes to Hastings on Saturday, with Richard Herring taking to the White Rock stage – complete with novelty Hitler moustache.
On first glance, growing facial hair to look like a Nazi is a lot to do in the name of comedy. But then, Herring once tried to steal Germaine Greer's bra. And, as he has no doubt grown tired of explaining, the tache is far from a celebration of fascism, more an attempted reclamation of face shrubbery once lovingly linked to Charlie Chaplin.
In fact, one of Herring's oft used opening gambits is to compare the two contemporaries whose careers, he says, "dropped off after the Second World War."
The Hitler Moustache tour sees Herring departing his regular comfort zone of self-mockery just as the moustache itself has clearly thrust him into a far more difficult conspicuity. The tache – and people's subsequent reaction to it – serves up a raft of anecdotal material, with the general consensus being that the moustache has oft made him feel something not far removed from a leper.
And, just like he is risking a punch in the face by sporting the moustache – so often a visual representation of Hitler and his goon squad – so too does some of Herring's material leave him wide open to misunderstanding.
Part of his set centres on whether or not "racists have a point". He moots the notion that the world would be a far happier place if more people approached things through the eyes of a bigot – seeing a handful of different skin colours as opposed to more than 200 different nations, using the friction between India and Pakistan as a case in point.
The irony-laden pondering may be a little close to the bone for some of the more sensitive members of the audience. And, as with any commentary on racism, some people will no doubt miss the point.
However, Herring is a comic at the very highest echelons of the industry and more than deserving of an hour on a soapbox. His attack on apathy-laden voters who failed to go to the polls and fight the British National Party will have particular resonance in Hastings.
With stand-up talent like Michael Mcintyre and Jason Manford making a fortune through inoffensive but unambitious material, Herring's desire to use his gags to tackle important issues without shying away from the more sensitive, often taboo subjects, should be applauded.
Doors open at 7.30pm.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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