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South Wales Argus reviews Cardiff show

Richard Herring, St David's Hall

1:48pm Monday 16th April 2012 in Entertainments By Alex Kalinik

Having previously tackled religion in his Christ On A Bike tour and fascist facial hair in Hitler Moustache, What Is Love Anyway? sees Richard Herring take to stage declaring his intention to Œdestroy love¹.

He ultimately fails in this, concluding there is an enduring power and value to love.

But in between he takes in topics ranging from the worthlessness of maternal love to the problems of going out with your celebrity crush and the horror of being stuck in an endless cycle of buying Ferrero Rocher.

Herring explores his own romantic history, starting with his first romance (four breaktimes of silent hand-holding aged ten) before moving on to his awkward teenage years and finishing with his recently acquired marital bliss.

This is brutally honest at times ­ a self-righteous poem read from the comic¹s diary when he was 18 provokes gales of laughter as well as squirms of recognition for much of the audience.

As a hugely experienced touring comic it was no surprise to see Herring confidently bantering with the crowd to involve them.

However, taking to Twitter during the interval to praise the audience and weaving a tweet or two into the start of the second half added to the feeling of intimacy, even in a stand-up venue as large as St Davids.

All in all it made for a warm-hearted evening of laughs topped off with pathos and a dash of emotion.