surprisingly uplifting despite its dark subject matter

Nowadays, comedians seem fixated on their mortality. Miles Jupp talks about his brain tumor on stage. Janey Godley and Rhod Gilbert discuss their cancer. It’s a subject that Richard Herring also reflects on in his new show entertainingly and thoughtfully.

The title says a lot. Can I get my ball back? tells you immediately what cancer Hering had. It also tells you that, despite being 50 years old, he still possesses that boyish joker streak that first appeared when he was in a double act with Stewart Lee three decades ago.

His story is both generic and distinctive. Having never thought about his testicles – “very much the backup singers” – a shot prompted a visit to a doctor, who was so confident it wasn’t cancer he was prepared to bet on it.

Herring has a lot of fun imagining the scenario where his family doctor finds a bookmaker that will accept this unusual bet.

But perhaps the cancer had been strangely foreshadowed. He had previously performed with a “Hitler moustache” – the facial hair of the world’s most famous mono-ball. He wrote a hit song called Talking Cock in praise of the penis. Did his backup singers get revenge for being kicked out?

Needless to say, the doctor would have lost his bet. The herring was quickly dealt with thanks to the impressive efficiency of the NHS and the offending article removed.

The description of how a testicle is removed has previously caused audience members to swoon. It was just a case of collective flinching on press night.

Spoiler alert, Hering survived. In the second half he dissects the experience and what it taught him. While the narrative is filled with his trademark juvenilia, Herring’s story also heralds a late-blooming maturity.

His brush with death gave him a new perspective. At one point, he recalls breaking down at the thought of his children raising orphans. Could he make a deal with God and have a few more years before his widow finds a cowboy-booted usurper to take his place and drink his whiskey?

Now he has different priorities. Family first. Breaking the taunting car gags is less important. Which doesn’t mean it’s going to stop, thank God. It’s his way of processing what happened.

This is funny, uplifting, emotional, and also an important public service announcement. As if men needed any encouragement, check yourself regularly, says Herring.

Survival rates are high for early diagnosis. If you are concerned, see a doctor who will know if it is a rice cracker stuck on the scrotum or something that needs further investigation. Watch this show, but also check your balls.

Bloomsbury Theatre, June 7, Leicester Square Theatre, June 9 and tours. Buy tickets here