THE numbers add up in alternative comedian Richard Herring’s new show.

Oh Frig, I’m 50! marks the comic, columnist and podcaster’s 50th birthday but it was also his 40th show in his 30 successive summers at the Edinburgh Fringe.

So how does that make him feel?

“A bit tired,” he confesses, “but that’s not turning 50. We’ve moved out of London to Hertfordshire. It means we’re near to my in-laws, now we have two children. And also it’s the rule. They kick you out of London at 50.”

Which of course all provides rich material for a stand-up comic still at the top of his game.

“As always,” he continues, “I’ll concentrate on the ‘below the belt’ element, which provides many amusing things. It’s all the realisation that I’m getting old, but I’m now the young old person rather than the old young person, which is the difference from my 40th birthday show, going through a massive midlife crisis, going off the rails a little bit, which was fun, and I’m not quite sure why I stopped doing that, but in the end you extract yourself, work out what’s wrong and move on.”

But it appears settled life suits him.

“Meeting Catie again was the significant moment,” he explains. “I first met her when she was doing stand-up – and I hope she’ll do that again – and I met her again in the October after turning 40 and it all spiralled from there, and now new human beings have emerged from there. I’m glad I got all that other stuff out the system, and I’m glad that children have entered my life in my late-40s. I’m really enjoying being a dad.

“It would be weird to ignore that part of my life in the show, though I used to do loads of anti-kids material before, but the truth is that I always wanted to have children. You just have to find your own way through it. It would be odd not to do stuff about having children, but it won’t be about how sweet and adorable they are, but more about the effect it’s had on me, which was what my Happy Now? show in 2015 was about. I realised it was better to be happy than not happy.”

Gazette: Richard and Catie with their child for the poster of Happy Now

Richard’s comedy career first began as one half of comedy duo Lee and Herring with Stewart Lee.

After the duo called it a day in 2000, Richard has been involved in writing a variety of comedy scripts as well as pushing forward with his own unique brand of stand-up.

His previous shows, all smash hits at Edinburgh, have included Richard Herring is Fat, Richard Herring is all man, Hitler moustache, Christ on a bike: The Second Coming, and now of course Oh Frig. I’m 50!

He says: “It has been a successful job like any other, with its ups and downs. You struggle to cope with elements of it when you are a young person as you fear you are only as good as your last gig. It is the same when you cannot think of anything to write. You can let it get on top of you and it can all get a bit crazy as you worry am I going to push myself over the edge?

“People can lose track of themselves but hopefully I have been able to keep my feet on the ground. I have been doing this for 30 years and I am still ambitious, optimistic and find it thrilling.

“My dream as a kid was to be a comedy writer and I am able to make a good living from it. When doing my best of shows I have been impressed by how much of what I have written from the early shows still works well now.

“Some of the jokes have to change or get pulled as if it went on social media today it would be contentious as some of the things do not work or are offensive. It is a balancing act.”

This comedy balancing act is something which Richard likes to push, raising issues which he wants to talk about even if his audience are unsure.

He adds: “I am always fascinated by the technical aspects of comedy and the subtle changes which can be done to improve the act. What you should do is create your own world and feel comfortable in it. Then you need to change it and make people uncomfortable.

“You have to be creative and push yourself. I do not think when you are onstage there is no subject out of bounds as long as it is original.”

Richard Herring is at the Mercury Theatre, Balkerne Gate, Colchester, on March 21 from 7.30pm.

Tickets are £18.50, available on-line at mercurytheatre.co.uk or by calling the Mercury box office on 01206 573948.