Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast (RHLSTP)

#264 Coin Master - Richard is giddy from doing too many podcasts in too short a time, but luckily his guest will bring him down to earth about how tough his life really is - it’s the brilliant and wise Sara Pascoe. They discuss audience members going on to be stars, the real way to enjoy Going for Gold, space-docking and whether portable fridges have a freezer, chimney-sweep genitalia and why men...

#263 Finnish Sausage Party - Richard is riding high from another magazine article lauding this podcast, but was the journalist right about the audience. If the maths teacher he picks is anything to go by then they are actually much worse. His guest is thoughtful ginger genius Tim Minchin.  They chat about how Tim is the tent poles of this podcast, the devastation of having his film cancelled...

#262 Voluntarily Shitfaced - Richard is back at the Oxford Playhouse and testing out his daughter’s jokes. Is she funnier than him yet? Of course she is. His guest is British Quiz Champion, Paul Sinha. In a honest and moving interview, Paul discusses the impact of the diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease has had and the turbulence that has inevitably brought and what comedy can be created from this si...

#261 Capitalism in Space - Richard is at the Oxford Playhouse and unsettled by the fact that it’s 30 years since he left University and appeared on this stage in Month in the Country. His guest is environmental campaigner and journalist George Monbiot. Is the world screwed? Or can we save it if we all pull together? Why did George deliberately get arrested? Can Extinction Rebellion make a dif...

#260 Googling Colin Firth - Richard is back at the Liverpool Playhouse, making his annual proclamation to fight any University lecturer in the vicinity. His guest is screen-writer, author and Olympic ceremony writer, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who may be the most charming and awe inspiring man who has ever lived and also seems to be obsessed with robots (pervert).  They chat about art theft,...

#259 Cillagrams - Richard is at the Liverpool Playhouse and is impressed by the bravest heckle put down ever attempted in this proud city (with the best sense of humour in the world). His guest is one of the many stars of a showbiz dynasty, Kate Robbins. They discuss Eurovision sabotage, writing the theme tune to one of the most controversial TV shows of all time, meeting Cilla Black whilst d...

#258 Tub of Spunk - RHLSTP returns to the Grand Opera House, York for the second week running. York is the most haunted city in Europe and Richard finds out what percentage of his audience have seen a ghost. The answer might surprise you. His guest is footballing and eating legend, Jon Parkin.  They discuss the journeyman sportsman’s slightly unconventional training routine, his writing...

#257 Glass Pyramid - Richard is back in York, this time at the Grand Opera House and he’s come up with a plan to rescue the magic football bones of Richard III from the thieving Leicester-folk. His guest is York City’s second most famous comedian supporter and food-poisoning victim, David Reed. They talk about crap student impro, working with the Twirlywoos, living next door to your parents,...

#256 Psychic Sex Twin - Richard is back at the Leicester Square Theatre and filling for time as nothing has happened to him in the week that has passed since last week’s show. His guest is comedian and project manager Athena Kugblenu. They chat about disposable nappies, inappropriate work emails, podcasting in your kitchen with your baby on your knee, how stereotypes about a continent the siz...

#255 Spaceship Moon - Richard is back at his spiritual home of the Leicester Square Theatre and has more news about what you shouldn’t put up or on your genitalia. His guest is the most well-read man in comedy Robin Ince. They talk mainly about his fabulous book “I’m a Joke and So Are You” https://www.amazon.co.uk/Im-Joke-Are-You-Comedians/dp/178649258X/ and where comedians get their crazy ideas f...

#254 Oklahoma - Rich liked the Newcastle Stand so much last week, he’s returned to talk about how squirrels ruined his day and to list the questionable achievements of the city. His guest is surrealist and former clown, Seymour Mace.  They discuss what God was thinking when he tested Job, stealing from a gold mine, appearing in a terrible non-zombie zombie film, that you’re all want to see no...

#253 Woody Allen Lift Horror - Rich is at the Newcastle Stand and mourns the possible end of Pizza Express but celebrates besting Piers Morgan. His guest is bricklayer turned comedian turned fillum star, Dave Johns. Dave takes us on his remarkable journey from Byker to I, Daniel Blake and beyond sprinkling the show with brilliant anecdotes about his brushes with A listers. Hear how Ken Loach ruine...

#252 Giraffe Harpsichord - Richard’s house is being haunted by a film star, but he’ll get over it. He’s back at the Exeter Corn Exchange and chatting to the man behind the most employable moustache in the UK, Mike Wozniak. They discuss how many people is too many people for a sketch troupe, children failing to recognise their own parent on TV, the internal voice that attempts to destroy all comedi...

#251 Christ, the Child Killer - Richard is a the Corn Exchange in Exeter, a town famous for the the most comical suicide bomb of all time. And Richard is talking religion with Biblical scholar, Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou.  They try to ascertain who wrote the Bible, what Jesus got up to in the bits that didn’t make it into the book, whether anyone in the Bible actually existed, whether...

#250 CBE? - Back to the Winchester Theatre Royal for the second week running and Richard is annoyed at his child’s teacher’s money-making schemes. His guest was also the final guest of the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe run where Richard tried to run the podcast into the ground (dare he do it again?) it’s John Kearns. It’s a giddy and self-indulgent podcast where most of the material is deemed too shoddy o...

#249 Sexy Borg Queen - We’re at the Winchester Theatre Royal and Rich is blaming the city for the loss of one of our greatest authors. His guest is the comedy Doogie Howser Ahir Shah. They discuss how politics will have changed between the recording and broadcast of this podcast, the sexiness of evil, Percy Pigs as an antidote to terror, perpetually burning coffee shops, being accused of plagiaris...

#248 Lock Keepers - Richard had so much fun at the Richmond Theatre that he’s come back again. Sure he’s wearing the same clothes, but a week has gone by and that’s plenty of time to do laundry and dry-cleaning. His guest this week is first series of RHLSTP hero Nick Frost.  They chat about Nick’s amazing, if rather sad autobiography https://www.amazon.co.uk/Truths-Half-Little-White-Lies/dp/1...

#247 A Spice Girl Broke My Toilet Seat - Rich has had his lactose tolerant choices mocked at the supermarket again, but he will rise above it as he comes to posh old Richmond Theatre to talk to Sam Wills aka Tape Face. They discuss the bizarre world where a child stalked a clown, how to clip through a tennis racquet, the accidental discovery of the character and who thought it up, the gamble of go...

#246 Gurt Lush - Richard is back in Bristol and surprised at some of the refurb choices apparently made at the SS Great Britain. His guest is the gorgeous force of nature that is Jayde Adams.  They chat about the genius of Michael Barrymore, the world of competitive dance. officiating weddings in an inflatable church, Amazon Prime specials, finding comedy in tragedy, working class feminism, w...

#246 Dual? - Richard is back at the Bristol Old Vic and is just happy to be no longer in Leicester, but what is Bristol famous for? You’ll find out. His guest is legendary Bristol comedian Mark Olver.  He discusses how his dad failed to catch a bungee jumper, living with Bristol’s most famous comedians, his move into TV Warm Up and his favourite ever Pointless (non-) player, how he has to car...

#244 The Marx Brothers - Rich is back at Hull City Hall for his last RHLSTP recording of 2019 and he has had an accidental slip off the wagon. But does it count? His guest is Hull’s finest comedian and wonderful oddball, Lucy Beaumont.  They discuss appearing on Crimewatch, being used as a crow stepping-stone, waking you to find biscuits on your head, whether Olly Murs is nice than Russell Br...

#243 Is Leicester Sh*t? - A week has passed, the costume change proves it, but Richard is back at the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester and still fuming about the bones that he believes are rightfully his. Never mind, local resident and inexpert quizzer Grace Petrie is here to convince him that Leicester is actually all right, despite all evidence to the contrary.  They discuss how she accidenta...

End of Year Draw - RHLSTP End of Year Draw - A short podcast advertising all the benefits of becoming a monthly badger (I forgot to say you also get an audio feed of RHLSTP with no ads in it), plus an unboxing of all the stuff you can get if you are lucky enough to win the end of year Badger draw (draws held monthly).  Become a badger at  http://gofasterstripe.com/badges SUPPORT THE SHOW...

#242 Snogging Debbie Harry - Rich is at Hull City Hall in the penultimate tour show of 2019 (released out of order, just to keep you on your toes) and he’s laying into Hull, even though it’s nice. His guest is character comedian and erstwhile pop star Graham Fellows. They chat about the unlikely genesis of Jilted John and what Jimmy Savile thought of him and what it was like to finally take him on...

#241 Tilda Swinton’s Guff -Richard is at the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester and his Yorkshire roots mean he isn’t going to let a bone of contention go. Luckily he has the fabulous Jenny Eclair on hand to take his mind off it.  They discuss lines of coke the length of a freezer, how Rich may be responsible for Jenny’s menopause, marrying for tax reasons, the sexiness of Mrs Thatcher, farting i...