King of the Swingers.
While the downside of tonight was having to cancel my preview at The Etcetera Theatre, at
least I had a go on King's Cross' massively oversized swing.
Who
cares that the 'show that wasn't' cost £200 at a conservative estimate.
It doesn't matter that each preview that doesn't happen makes me marginally less prepared for my Edinburgh Fringe run. Tonight, I got to do my best
impression of a human pendulum in front of scores of frustrated
commuters, held back by severe delays; for a moment I was King of the
World. It took every ounce of self control to resist the urge to leap
from it mid-swing, holding out my arms like an Olympic gymnast. I've
half a mind to find more enormous playground rides and have a go on
them.
Setting up for tonight. |
In
reality, cancelling tonight was hugely frustrating; not least because I
had to book and pay for an emergency technician to step in to run my
show, as I didn't think my wife would
be able to get there on time from work to do it. The Etcetera's a room that's perfect for
my stuff, but it's no good without an audience to watch it. I did have
one friend come along, but you can't perform stand-up one-on-one. I
should have invited him back to King's Cross with me; at least then he could have
given me a push.