Hi and welcome to my short ten question interview with the comedian and author Richard Herring. I'm hoping this will become a regular feature on the blog so if there's anyone you know who would like to be asked a few question that will appear on the web feel free to contact me.
Waylander101: Hi Richard thanks for taking the time out for my inane questionnaire. Howâs things with you right now?
Richard: Pretty busy and stressful. Have been going at it full pelt all year and not managed to get a break and my body and brain are rebelling. But hopefully I will get the scripts for my new Radio 4 show written in time in spite of this.
Waylander101: Can you give a brief resume for anyone not familiar with you?
Richard: I am a stand up comedian and writer. In the 90s I worked on seminal radio show "On The Hour" and then did some radio and TV work with Stewart Lee as Lee and Herring. Since then I wrote 37 episodes of Time Gentleman Please for Al Murray and have been concentrating on my solo stand up work with such shows as "Hitler Moustache", "Talking Cock" and this year's "Christ on a Bike". I also am heavily involved in podcasting, doing the weekly Collings and Herrin podcast with Andrew Collins and the occasional, Sony-nominated As It Occurs To Me, which is a stand up and sketch show. I've written a couple of books and crop up on the radio and TV panel shows every now and again.
Waylander101: Pirates or ninjas?
Richard: Pirates - never been interested in ninjas in the slightest.
Wayalnder101: How was your childhood?
Richard: Rather lovely probably. I did a show about it called "Headmaster's Son" - my dad was my headmaster which was probably the only weird thing about it all. But I grew up in a lovely town, Cheddar in Somerset and went to a fine school (Kings of Wessex) and had a loving family and friends. So pretty idyllic. I was always interested in comedy and sex, which remain my primary interests.
Waylander101: Your plan for the zombie apocalypse?
Richard: I think I'll just become a zombie straight away and join that side of things. I have no practical skills and will only be postponing the inevitable if I try to escape.
Wayalnder101: Just how tough is it coming up with new material with your work out put?
Richard: It is pretty tough and I procrastinate a lot (should be writing my script now) but blind fear usually makes things happen in time. I am producing a lot of stuff at the moment and it's hard work, but I don't feel like ideas are drying up and I am hopefully getting better at what I do all the time.
Waylander101: Do you prefer solo or team work?
Richard: I like to be able to do both. If you only do solo work it gets a bit lonely, but I love the autonomy of one man shows and being on the road. So as long as I can do a bit of both I am happy.
Waylander101: When can we expect to see you on TV again?
Richard: I am in the new series of Genius. And doubtless will be on other such things over the next few months. I have been trying to write sitcoms and comedy dramas but so far mostly without success (they're pretty good, I think, but the people who decide have chosen to put on shit instead). Things are moving slowly in the right direction with all this though and I think I will do TV again at some point, but honestly am happier doing the live work and the podcasts.
Waylander101: Who is Vergillio Anderson?
Richard: Virgilio Anderson stole my name for his facebook web address. We never found out who he was or why he had done this. He was, it seems, an architect who lived in Macedonia (I think). Maybe I should have tried to track him down., but in a way it's fun that it remains a mystery.
Waylander101: Anything you want to plug?
Richard: Hitler Moustache DVD is out on 25th October - best to buy it from
http://www.gofasterstripe.com/ where there is an exclusive extras disc (on top of the one that comes with it). And there's an AIOTM DVD out there too, as well as all my other CDs and DVDs. Richard Herring's Objective starts on October 14th at 6.30 on Radio 4. My book "How Not To Grow Up" is at all good bookshops. My Christ on a Bike tour starts in December -
http://www.richardherring.com/coab/tour.php
There are some live Collings and Herrin and AIOTM shows coming up in the next couple of months. Is that enough to be going on with?
Waylander101: Thanks again for your time
Richard: Thanks for asking me.
And that's it folks the end of my first interview.
For anyone interested Richard Herring's web site and Twitter feed are below.
http://www.richardherring.com/
http://twitter.com/Herring1967
