Richard Herring's Edinburgh Fringe Podcast and Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast are two comedypodcasts, created and hosted by British comedian Richard Herring. Hosted on The British Comedy Guide, the podcasts are interviews with notable guests, usually fellow comedians. The original Edinburgh Fringe podcast ran from 2011 to 2013,[1] and took place most days[2] for the duration of the Fringe, focusing on interviews with performers at the festival. They also contain short stand-up segments from Fringe performers. The Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, recorded at Leicester Square in London, began in 2012 and follows a similar format, with higher profile guests. It runs for a shorter series than the Edinburgh Fringe version, with weekly recordings.
Both podcasts are performed in front of a paying audience, but released for free download and streaming. The Leicester Square Theatre Podcast has won the Internet Award at the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Chortle Awards,[3] and was the only non-BBC programme to be nominated for the comedy award at the 2013 Sony Radio Awards.[4] The show won a bronze award in the category, becoming the first internet-only award winner in this section.[5]Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood has also heralded the Leicester Square Theatre Podcast citing it as one of his cultural highlights in The Guardian.[6]
In Herring's interview with Stephen Fry, Fry revealed that he had attempted to commit suicide. The story was reported across various newspapers and international news networks including the BBC and Sky News.[7][8] His interview with Russell Brand also came to some press attention several months after its release, the press focusing on Brand discussing pleasuring a man in a public toilet for his 2002 TV show RE:Brand.[9][10]
Series One and Two of the Leicester Square Theatre Podcast were released solely in audio format, with the exception of Stewart Lee's episode, which was initially released as a DVD Extra for Fist of Fun, Series Two. From Series Three onwards all episodes of the show were released in both audio and video format – initially as a paid download, then free on YouTube. Series Seven was the first to be financed by a Kickstarter campaign in order to cover the costs of production.
