Bath Brewings.

I did the first of my two Bath Comedy Festival dates today, which I really enjoyed, despite a slightly frenetic lead-up.

Live and in CHALK.

My wife and I drove down this morning (she did the steering and I did the pedals), and while the journey was pleasant, we arrived with only just enough time to park, drop our things off at the hotel and get to the venue. The show before me came down at 4:00pm with mine set to start at 4:30pm, yet we only walked into to the building at 3:45pm-sh. Consequently, I didn’t have much chance to look over my notes before I began, which could have been fraught when most of the material was new.

Thankfully, the get-in was swift and unstressful (largely thanks to the excellent tech staff), which was a relief, as you never know if there’s going to be an issue when you go into a new space, particularly when running AV to an unknown projector and desk.

Despite the rush, I settled pretty quickly once I’d begun, particularly when I realised the audience were on-side. It could have been intimidating for them, as they were sat almost on top of me with little space for to hide, but the sea of smiling faces (well, a very bijou sea) made it clear that they weren’t put off by being so close to my sweaty mug.

Today's show.

What gave the whole thing a kick was the fact most of the material was fresh. It felt great to be doing something different, even if some of it was very, very new. The hour zipped by, and what was promising was the old stuff was minimal. I’m under no illusion that my Edinburgh show is finished, but there’s a sense of potential in the air that’s very encouraging. The trick will be making the most of all my work-in-progress dates, without worrying if some of it fails; it’s all part of the process. But what’s great is, nothing felt like it failed tonight.

The sign as you exit my venue proves everyone's a critic.