Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast (RHLSTP)

Book Club #111 - The Unfinished Harauld Hughes - Richard talks to the extraordinary Richard Ayoade about his incredible multi-book releases about writer Harauld Hughes (including books of his plays, films and prose) and his equally brilliant “The Fairy Tale Fan Club” kids book. They chat about the questions children ask about the stories they are told and why it’s fun to attempt to answe...

#531 Hello Pervert -   It’s the final London RHLSTP for a while and a time for goodbyes to the film crew and a very special member of the Leicester Square Theatre staff, whilst Rich discusses the rare occasions when your kids make your hard work on their behalf seem worthwhile. His guest is 8 times interviewee/interviewer in the RH universe, Adam Buxton. They discuss Milky Way adver...

Book Club #110 - Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things? - Richard talks to comedian Pierre Novellie about his fabulous book (and guide book) about autism, Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things? They chat about Richard’s disappointment of his pretty regular test scores, why people react badly or suspiciously towards people with autism and ADHD, why Richard is better than Isaac Newton, why Pierre wanted the book to...

#530 Tudor Spring Onion -   Richard is back in Sheffield, questioning the Curse of the Crucible. His guest is pop star and song-writing genius Paul Heaton. They talk about Paul’s propensity to collect and audit, why Happy Hour gives Richard unhappy flashbacks, how censorship made one song both worse and also slightly better, the acts of financial generosity which one suspects might just...

Book Club #109 - Earth To Moon - Richard chats to the fantastic Moon Zappa about her honest, funny and heart-breaking book Earth To Moon, about growing up in a somewhat dysfunctional family, having a world famous dad and trying to make her own way in the world. They chat about their previous meeting in 1997 and how Richard failed to pick up on some mild flirtation, meeting Snow White and being dis...

#529 Fulcrum -  Richard is in Sheffield where people still remember the rainbow of 1994 whilst he confuses Electric Dreams with Electric Blue. His guest is brilliant story-telling comedian Tom Wrigglesworth. They chat about sharing an Edinburgh flat in 2010, how organising a whip round for a fellow train passenger led to Tom’s arrest and a fantastic Edinburgh show, how a resemblance...

Book Club #108 - The Time Machine Next Door - It’s series 7 of Book Club book-loving biatches and Rich's first guest of the new series is comedian, broadcaster and author, Iszi Lawrence. They discuss the paradoxes and possibilities of time travel, how to meld education and entertainment, the fantastic facts that Iszi weaves into her books, the incredible length and lack of chan...

#528 Chemistry -  Richard is back in Cardiff, informing his audience of their history of weak punishment. His guest is award winning podcaster Benjamin Partridge. They discuss dangerous Welsh language television of the 1980s, how Ben got Nick Offerman on his podcast and their eventual awkward meeting, Rich’s brand new podcast idea to rid the world of a certain type of criminal, an incred...

#527 Happy Grammy Birthday -  Richard has travelled to the home of gofasterstripe, Cardiff in Welsh Wales and his guest is singer and activist Charlotte Church. They chat about her extraordinary rise to fame and the whirlwind of travel and celebrities that came with it. How Frasier was disappointingly weird when she met him at the inauguration of George W Bush, how she sang a requiem at...

#526 Joyfully Reckless -  Richard is back in Dublin and is intrigued by the Book of Kells. His guest is the superb and philosophical comedian and interviewer Tommy Tiernan. It’s a lovely sprawling waffle encompassing the trouble that being mischievous can get you into, the stress of doing a show with no plan, how studying acting made Tommy a worse actor (only in his opinion), Jerry Sadow...

#525 The Biggest Award in Comedy -  Richard has been sent to Coventry and remembers a previous visit to the Warwick Arts Centre where he had to turn the other cheek. His guest is the winner of the biggest (and slowest) award in comedy, Lindsey Santoro. Find out what Lindsey spent her money from this RHLSTP backed award and listen as the award itself is inflated. Plus they...

#524 Burning Vas Deferens -  More fun from a performer at the Edinburgh Fringe - this time the wonderful Stuart Laws. They discuss the genesis of the gilet that has become his trademark (though not according to imdv),magic realism versus actual realism in comedy, the nitty gritty of a vasectomy and why some procedures use the testicular seam and others do not, the fun twist of the f...

#523 Dyspraxic Dinner Lady -  It’s another Edinburgh Fringe podcast, recorded hundreds of miles away from the the Festival to keep Richard sane. His guest today is the multi-award winning new comedian Dan Tiernan. They chat about how to get them to do a retake on the now defunct BBC show Doctors, why being a stand-up comedian is the perfect job for a someone with dyspraxia, how canc...

#522 Arse Twins -  Richard talks to the brilliant Stevie Martin about her show Clout, the weirdness of secretly watching your family on a Ring Doorbell, what it was like to act alongside ventriloquist dummy Ally Sloper, the joys and dangers of mooning, writing fabric-based puns for the Sewing Bee, the pain of rejection and only creating work when you feel the correct inspiration, th...

#521 Pork Markets -   Richard chats to Liz Truss impersonator extraordinaire (and so much more) Nerine Skinner about the creation of the character, her first solo Edinburgh show, The Exorcism of Liz Truss, how she has become obsessed with the politician (thankfully not in the same way as Richard has) and the dangers of the success of one of your characters when you do many othe...

#520 Double Berocca -   Richard is in Glasgow at the Oran More, remembering the time he was picketed at this venue and almost wrecked someone’s wedding. His guest is Glaswegian phenomenon Susie McCabe. They talk about her getting into comedy due to a drunken bet, working on building sites, estimating the cost of lighting in a velodrome, the ultimate argument as to why seeing gay peo...

#519 Everything’s a Piñata -   Richard is at the Bedford Corn Exchange where he’s fascinated by the animal sanctuary that bears his name and the Bedford cult that was expecting the second coming of Jesus. His guest is the mysterious Swede Olaf Falafel, if that is his real name or nationality. He talks about how he got into comedy, the double edged sword of winning joke of the Fringe...

#518 Elbowing Banksy -   Rich is back in Leicester, trying to work out the sexiest ever UK Prime Minister. His guest is comedy legend and fellow monoball, Simon Munnery. They talk about the crimes of the one-balled community, appearing at the Tunnel Club alongside the much-missed Malcolm Hardee, visiting CERN with the actor Kevin Eldon, travelling the country in a cortina with Simon’s su...

#517 Phil Spins -   Rich is back with the kingstealers of Leicester (but he’s not going to mention that) and is pleased to be in the home of DNA fingerprints. His guest is the unpredictable award winning comedian Phil Ellis. They talk about working in an airbag factory, delivering pizzas to tight millionaire footballers, the extreme lengths Phil will go to to provide twists for his...

#516 Tooth in a Bag -  Richard is back in Bristol and details some of the things that have made this city so famous. His guest is TikTok sensation and stand up Abi Clarke. They chat about almost going to circus school, how lockdown shifted her focus from stand up to online content and how that helped her find an audience, working with your parents, Rich’s strong feelings for Abi’s mum, d...

#515 Sex, Sleep or Scrabble? -  Richard has travelled to Bristol, a place where they take a dim view of statues (after a while) but name everything after Colston anyway. His guest is broadcaster, doctor and the other half of Struck Off and Die, Phil Hammond. They chat about being slapped in the face by Tony Slattery, infuriating John Redwood, being chastised by Jacob Rees Mogg’s dad, why...

#514 Bag For Life Full of Bones -  Richard returns to his kingdom of Edinburgh and it’s Chriiiiissstttmas (in a few weeks or a few months ago, whichever way you look at it). His guest is Shetland storyteller, actor and comedian and cultural icon Marjolein Robertson. They talk about how a terrible few months in Amsterdam led to her becoming a stand up, a teleporting ghost, a ter...

Book Club #107 - Eamon, Older Brother of Jesus - Richard chats to stand up legend and surprisingly underused Father Ted star Michael Redmond about his book Eamon, Older Brother of Jesus and the surprisingly controversial history of the story, from stand-up show, to radio show that was cancelled at the last minute, to self-published book. They also talk about the early-ish days of alterna...

#513 Bashful Secrets - Richard has come to Dublin and with 900 people in the 3 Olympia it’s an incredible atmosphere! He discusses his Irish heritage and why Ireland should leave Europe! His guest is the man behind and in front of the Divine Comedy, Neil Hanlon. They chat about their authority figure dads, whether “My Lovely Horse” will be his enduring legacy, the Duckworth Lewis Method, Band...

Book Club #106 - Fair or Foul - The Lady Macbeth Guide to Ambition - Richard chats to journalist and friend Stefan Stern about his terrific book about the positives and negatives of ambition, Fair or Foul. What prompted him to tackle this subject? Why is the play Macbeth the perfect scaffolding for this discussion and what do people need for their ambitions to be considered a success. They chat ab...