Blueprint for 2016


There was something satisfying about replacing the year planner in Doggett & Ephgrave’s office this morning.

I arrived there after a chiropractor appointment to find that Glyn had dropped the new one off, before disappearing on his annual January jaunt, Company Managing the Market Theatre’s Adult Panto tour. I'd hoped to get my hands on it soon, as I wanted to start jotting down the various dates booked in for this year, to keep track of them (this being the purpose of a wall planner). Though the reason I needed it was practical, it was strangely cathartic taking the old one down. 2015 was the first full year of seriously gigging on my own, taking in my 30-minute ‘Work in (Hope of) Progress’ date at The Soho Theatre and my first solo hour ‘…and Ephgrave’ on the Brighton & Camden Fringe. It was a rewarding twelve months, but at the same time, it was good to see the back of it – so folding up last year’s Staples Year Planner and depositing it in the desk drawer was a strong metaphor for being done with 2015; a way to mark leaving it behind with a physical action.

One of the first things I did, after filling in our Hitchin Mostly Comedy dates, was to write in my four-night run on the Brighton Fringe this May. You’d think those barely legible marker pen strokes would make the reality of coming up with a new show more daunting, but it didn’t. It reminded me I have a fair amount of time to work on it. Admittedly, there are currently fewer solo gigs leading up to it than I would like, but there’s time to put this right. If I can be methodical with my writing and booking, I can keep myself up to speed (though I will have to decide whether to do any of the other festivals shortly).

I hope 2016 can also be a productive year for the double act. Once Mostly has settled into The Sun Hotel, there’ll be less setting up for Glyn and me to do than in the past. This should in turn give us more time to work up new material – though I will have to put the majority of my writing focus on my solo stuff, to make sure I’m ready for May. I’d love for us to do another show together too, but this would mean juggling our commitments. Too much of our time as a duo is taken up with admin and not enough on performance. Our internet radio show is a step forward, but not as big a step as I’d like. As I’ve said here before, I don’t want us to solely emcee and promote a provincial comedy night.

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