At the start of 2021 Richard Herring was diagnosed with testicular cancer. For a man whose output includes a stand-up tour titled Talking Cock and who regularly interrogates our attitudes towards masculinity, it was a diagnosis that came with additional layers of complexity.
Mixing his personal story with what defines masculinity and 'maleness' in society, Can I Have My Ball Back? is not your typical cancer memoir. Whether they're nuts, or bollocks, or gonads, or family jewels; from the phrase 'grow some balls' to infamous WWII songs about Hitler, Rich unpicks the tangle of emotions around his own testing times.
In conversation with classicist, broadcaster and comedian Natalie Haynes.
