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British Theatre Guide review of COAB

Richard Herring: Christ on a Bike – The Second Coming
Avalon Promotions Ltd
Assembly George Street.
***

Jesus Christ! You might exclaim, as Richard Herring turns his sarcastic and cutting eyes onto the subject of religion, or more specifically, the validity of Christianity in it's worship of Jesus.

With segments ranging from a critical deconstruction of the ten commandments to pointing out deliberate mistakes in the Bible, it's business as usual for Herring who manages to keep the audience chirping with mirth at his gags and quick-witted humour.

Not quite so successful are the bookending pair of lengthy comedic stories about a bicycle race. These overlong and only occasionally funny turns slow down the rest of the show and feel like time-filling in a show which already feels like it's bogged down. The overall impression is that unlike The Headmaster's Son and Hitler's Moustache, there simply isn't enough material here for Herring to work with, instead there is a distinct impression that this is more of a polemic, with Herring spending more than his usual amount of time ranting and pontificating.

Despite this, Herring still manages to turn what would have, in lesser hands, have simply sounded like an arrogant tirade into a genuinely funny and intelligent pondering of the nature of religion and the flaws in the standard practices of Christianity. Bless him.

Graeme Strachan