Stay Now...Stay Now...


Today’s show was a nice one with a friendly audience, which was just what the doctor ordered at this late stage in the game, although a guy walked out a few minutes in, and while the motive for his exit could be for a whole host of reasons, I find it a strange thing to do when the venue is small enough for everyone in the room to be aware of it.

Thankfully, this has only happened to me one other time this year (and the circumstances ended up being a gift) and it’s something that tends to occur more often when you’re performing on the Free Fringe, when the lack of a financial transaction often goes hand in hand with less commitment, but I still think it’s a faux pas. The first thing to enter everyone’s head - be they the performer or the audience - is that the person isn’t enjoying it, and if it isn’t addressed by the act on stage (providing it’s not a play of course) it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth and is disruptive for everyone.

I’ve never walked out of a show in my life; least of all on the Fringe, when most shows only last an hour anyway, so you won’t be trapped for long. The only time I can envisage leaving was if I found the show deeply offensive, and even then, it would have to be truly reprehensible for me to get to my feet. There’s an unwritten etiquette to theatre that dictates you don’t pull focus as, however briefly you do it, it makes that moment all about you, and that isn’t good cricket; it’s not television and you’re not watching at home alone, so do the decent thing and sit it out.

The worst instance that comes to mind was a recent Mostly Comedy, when a party of four people sat on the far side of the room took a dislike to the comic on stage and decided to not only walk out, but to make a big scene by hurling abuse at the act in the midst of his performance. It didn’t matter to them that everyone else was enjoying it, nor did they care that their words would have a negative impact on someone in the middle of their set; most shockingly of all, they couldn’t grasp that they were the ones in the wrong as the act was doing exactly what he's known for; as far as they were concerned, they were the most important people in the room. It was testament to the comic in question that not only did he take it gracefully, he still killed them with kindness and did his best to reel them in.

From now on, I’m not taking any chances and will only perform in hermetically-sealed rooms.

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Image
Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...
Read more

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...
Read more

Hoo-ray and up She Rises.

So much has happened since my last post in March that this blog risks sounding like an itinerary. The main news is that Hitchin Mostly Comedy will return in the summer at a new venue, the Queen Mother Theatre . The road to this decision was convoluted, though enough fell into place en route to leave me optimistic about this new start. The catalyst was a survey I ran via our mailing list a few months back, in which I asked, "If the club returned in the current climate, with tickets still around £15 (and with similar line-ups), would you still attend?"; the response to which, in simple terms, was a resounding yes. Nearly 250 mailing list subscribers responded in a single week, with around a hundred also taking the option to leave some feedback. And only two people were abusive, which counts as a win when you consider they posted their comments online anonymously. Imagine how many more insults we would have received if the comedy club was a woman. Particularly if she was Diane ...
Read more