11/08/2009
Richard Herring: Hitler Moustache
Underbelly
4/5
The silly-looking square of black hair on his top lip isnât, says Richard Herring, a Hitler moustache. It was a Charlie Chaplin moustache first, and itâs being reappropriated in the name of comedy. Having worn it for three months now, heâs become well versed in the opinions of his family, friends and the racially diverse public of his native Shepherds Bush.
He gets in an early dig at The Guardian, which picked up on his assertion (as part of the show) that âracists have got a pointâ. Under the moustacheâs âinfluenceâ, he says many things that will prick left-wing sensibilities, and therefore his own, yet he ruthlessly deconstructs our reactions to certain taboo words and symbols while smuggling in a healthy dose of topicality (Michael Jackson and a lot about the BNP).