Tonight's special charity Mostly Comedy at the Queen Mother Theatre was a resounding success, proving just how much nicer it is to run the gig in a proper theatre space over a function room.
It just so happened that tonight was also the first time we've let slip that, after three and a half years at The Sun, we're moving to pastures new. As it stands, our unofficial/official home will be Hitchin Town Hall - that's certainly where our main shows have been shifted to up to the Summer - although that's not to say we wouldn't happily move to the QMT if we can make our diaries align. Everything about their setup is more conducive to running an event like Mostly, plus we've definitely reached the point where we're tired of having to set up a venue from scratch. While The Sun was integral to the club's growth over the past few years, the nature of the space meant we'd gone back a few steps as regards our pre-and-post-gig workload, so whether we permanently set up camp at the Town Hall or the Queen Mother, at least we'd be arriving at a room with very little to do.
Going back to tonight's gig, it was just so nice to do a show where you weren't upstaged or let down by the nature of the venue. The combination of the auditorium's layout (with raked seating) and the use of our new sound company made for perfect attention without being upstaged by irritating things you shouldn't have to contend with.
Tonight's show was inevitably a great one irrespective of the charity collection or venue, if just for the line-up. Before I introduced John Shuttleworth, I mentioned to the audience how he was one of two acts I I'd wanted to book for Mostly Comedy from the very beginning, when I used to listen to the comedy slot on BBC Radio 4 Extra on my way home from teaching and hear him on it. Ivan Brackenbury was the other contender (who's already played the club a number of times will pass) but now we've completed the set.
The show itself felt like a great one. Everyone was on top form (Simon Munnery was a particularly good poser, and we can all rest assured that we did our bit, raising at least £1700 on the door, which is not to be sniffed at; we love it when a plan comes together.
It just so happened that tonight was also the first time we've let slip that, after three and a half years at The Sun, we're moving to pastures new. As it stands, our unofficial/official home will be Hitchin Town Hall - that's certainly where our main shows have been shifted to up to the Summer - although that's not to say we wouldn't happily move to the QMT if we can make our diaries align. Everything about their setup is more conducive to running an event like Mostly, plus we've definitely reached the point where we're tired of having to set up a venue from scratch. While The Sun was integral to the club's growth over the past few years, the nature of the space meant we'd gone back a few steps as regards our pre-and-post-gig workload, so whether we permanently set up camp at the Town Hall or the Queen Mother, at least we'd be arriving at a room with very little to do.
Going back to tonight's gig, it was just so nice to do a show where you weren't upstaged or let down by the nature of the venue. The combination of the auditorium's layout (with raked seating) and the use of our new sound company made for perfect attention without being upstaged by irritating things you shouldn't have to contend with.
Tonight's show was inevitably a great one irrespective of the charity collection or venue, if just for the line-up. Before I introduced John Shuttleworth, I mentioned to the audience how he was one of two acts I I'd wanted to book for Mostly Comedy from the very beginning, when I used to listen to the comedy slot on BBC Radio 4 Extra on my way home from teaching and hear him on it. Ivan Brackenbury was the other contender (who's already played the club a number of times will pass) but now we've completed the set.
The show itself felt like a great one. Everyone was on top form (Simon Munnery was a particularly good poser, and we can all rest assured that we did our bit, raising at least £1700 on the door, which is not to be sniffed at; we love it when a plan comes together.
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| A backstage shot from last night's Hitchin Mostly Comedy, featuring (l to r) me, Anna Morris, Simon Munnery, John Shuttleworth (15.05.19) |