Richard Herring: Happy Now? On tour
The default position for a stand-up comedian is that of a surly complainer: from Billy Connolly to Josh Widdicombe, griping has always been an effective way of generating gags. On the other hand, it is possible to find stand-up that’s much more upbeat: acts as diverse as Josie Long and Rob Beckett have found that a sunny disposition is no barrier to comedy success. Richard Herring is struggling to adjust to being happy; he’s now living in relative financial security with a wife he loves and a one-year-old daughter he dotes upon. So this latest solo show sees him asking whether all this contentment is really compatible with his role as a stand-up. On the face of it, he shouldn’t have too much of a problem. While Herring has dealt with weighty topics in the past (from the breakdown of relationships to the inevitability of death), the hallmark of his comedy has always been a gloriously infantile delight in mischief, provocation and inspired rudeness. It’ll take more than domestic comfort to stop him.
Lolly Adefope, London
For young comedians putting together their first fringe shows, there can be a temptation to use them as a showcase of everything they can do, an audition for a future career rather than a satisfying piece of entertainment in its own right. Character comic Lolly Adefope may have given in to that temptation, but the scale of her comic powers means that exhibiting them certainly won’t leave audiences grumbling. Her show takes the form of a community centre talent night, with Adefope playing all the desperate, deluded acts as well as the attention-hogging compere. Each character is performed with glee and conviction, and there’s an impressive mix of accessible broad strokes and more subtle, considered detail. It’s a package that has won her substantial attention. That may be in part due to the underrepresentation of black female voices in comedy, but Adefope deserves more than token recognition.
The Invisible Dot Ltd, N1, Sat; Upstairs, Soho Theatre, W1, Thu to 20 Feb
Adam Hills: Clown Heart, On tour
Adam Hills has been making regular trips to the UK from his native Australia for well over a decade. While his shows were always well-received (he got three consecutive Edinburgh award nominations between 2001 and 2003), he never showed signs of breaking through to the A-list. That was before he was picked to host Channel 4’s The Last Leg, a show initially intended to provide light relief during the 2012 Paralympics but which has subsequently taken on a life of its own. Hills performs his solo stand-up in much the same manner as he hosts the show, mixing positive messages about overcoming adversity (whether that’s the death of a parent or the serious illness of a close friend) with brutal takedowns of public figures such as Katie Hopkins and Nigel Farage who he feels prey on our worst instincts.
