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"Bless him."


The first thing the MC said after I walked off the stage tonight was "Well, he tried".

This made we walk straight out of the building. Saying it was unprofessional and unpleasant. Without wishing to sound like one of those people, in all the years that Glyn and I have run and MC-ed a comedy club, we've never once put an act down, however their set went. It's not an MC's job to pass comment; you pick things up and keep things moving, but that’s it. You’re never negative about what’s onstage around you; after all, they’re as much a part of the show as you.

The irony was it didn't go that badly. It wasn’t my best work, but it wasn't my worst. The audience’s reaction was polite, but there were still some laughs. Even if there hadn't been, the comment was unnecessary. It was patronising while pretending to be supportive, and served to set in stone with the audience that it hadn’t gone well, regardless of what they’d been thinking in the first place. 

I’m quickly learning that a Friday or Saturday night ‘pub comedy night’ crowd is not the one for me. To be honest, I knew this in the first place; I barely fit into a being-out-at-the-weekend scenario in real life, let alone when I’m gigging. There were three stag dos in the audience tonight who - while actually being quite restrained - were never going to be in the mood to listen to gentle stories about my personal ineptitude or my dad’s hernia. I need to be in a space where my performance can feel more like a conversation and less like a brash public announcement; either that, or I need to start doing more cock jokes. I only hope I don’t run out of rooms where I can do it.
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