Tonight saw the
first Broadway Cinema & Theatre Mostly Comedy (in the company of Norman
Lovett and Arthur Smith) and it’s fair to say that we all had a lovely
evening.
It was nice to present the club in a proper theatre and to able to use Glyn’s and my experience in that kind of space with our other work in a Mostly Comedy context. On a personal level, it's quite something to note the journey the club has taken since its early days in the tiny room above the George pub in Hitchin eight and a half years ago. The Broadway's not a venue I’d ever anticipated working in, having always been a cinema up to its recent refit; it was a definite step up from my only other gigs in Letchworth up to that point with Big Day Out at the Arena Tavern over the road, and with both Big Day Out and the Buddy show at Plinston Hall.
It helped that we had exactly the right bill for the Broadway’s demographic. Norman and Arthur are two of the nicest people in comedy, who we feel very comfortable with, and they were just the right faces to have on for the town and the venue’s taste. It’s got to the point with Mostly where we almost take for granted the level of acts we’re working with, but stepping outside of it all for a moment, presenting a bill of us with them would have seemed ridiculous just a few years previously; putting the two of them together makes for a hell of a line-up (which was clear from the audience reaction).
Our material went
very well too. Working a space like the Broadway is very different to The
Sun due to the relative scale and the set-up; it was nice to have the
chance to play up the material a bit, particularly with the benefit of being
able to use the cinema projector to make audio-visual aspect of our act massive. We opened
with our Manualism material which was perfect for the set-up as the video clips
gave the beginning of the show drive and impact, then closed the first
half with Ukulele Girl (which felt suitably theatrical). I then kicked off the
second half with a short solo set, with Glyn joining me at the end of the gig
for our ever-faithful Star Trek Porn Letter.
All in all it was
a pleasant diversion from our regular Hitchin dates.
Hopefully we’ll back at The Broadway before long, but the Sun Hotel shows are still
the club’s priority; it was nice however to have a slightly more 'showy' treat
for a change, with the benefit of a backstage space again; I even had the luxury of being
able to have a quick shower before I went on, for Christ’s sake.
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| A Doggett & Ephgrave whistle duet (02.03.17) |
It was nice to present the club in a proper theatre and to able to use Glyn’s and my experience in that kind of space with our other work in a Mostly Comedy context. On a personal level, it's quite something to note the journey the club has taken since its early days in the tiny room above the George pub in Hitchin eight and a half years ago. The Broadway's not a venue I’d ever anticipated working in, having always been a cinema up to its recent refit; it was a definite step up from my only other gigs in Letchworth up to that point with Big Day Out at the Arena Tavern over the road, and with both Big Day Out and the Buddy show at Plinston Hall.
 |
| Helping Norman find his glasses. |
It helped that we had exactly the right bill for the Broadway’s demographic. Norman and Arthur are two of the nicest people in comedy, who we feel very comfortable with, and they were just the right faces to have on for the town and the venue’s taste. It’s got to the point with Mostly where we almost take for granted the level of acts we’re working with, but stepping outside of it all for a moment, presenting a bill of us with them would have seemed ridiculous just a few years previously; putting the two of them together makes for a hell of a line-up (which was clear from the audience reaction).
 |
| Arthur Smith from the wings. |
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| D&E Backstage: Glyn demonstrates his nose to me. |