mostly david ephgrave

Yesterday, we released a new episode of More Than Mostly Comedy , featuring an interview with the excellent Tony Hawks , which we recorded a fortnight ago - our second new MTMC both in a month and since the club relaunched in 2023. That 'our' has been subject to a personnel change since Mostly was last a functioning entity. I now host the podcast with Dan Graham, who also now runs the club with me. I suggested resurrecting the podcast a few months ago to make the most of what, for me, has always been the best part of Mostly Comedy: the fascinating people it brings us into contact with. Why waste that opportunity by restricting it to a one-off gig in a room, when you can get something out of it that lasts beyond that date? (Don't respond.) Tony Hawks is undoubtedly such a person. I've been a fan of his books ever since my friend Ash recommended 'Round Ireland with a Fridge' to me while I gave him guitar lessons in the early 2000s. I instantly fell in love with To...

This afternoon, I was lucky enough to attend the recording of the last two remaining lost Hancock's Half Hour episodes for the BBC Radio 4 series The Missing Hancocks (my third time in the audience, man & boy), which was once again performed pitch-perfectly by Kevin McNally and the cast and left me feeling suitably inspired and uplifted as I exited Broadcasting House and made my way back to the tube at Oxford Circus. I must admit visiting the BBC always gives me a bit of a lift, as the child inside still can't help but be excited by the many inspirational ghosts that occupy the building, metaphorically speaking (subject to a proper paranormal assessment); I've only been to Broadcasting House once in a work context - to do a radio interview for the Buddy Holly show I was in - and went to Television Centre once in a non-audience-member capacity - for a meeting with a producer with Glyn - but the part of me that longs to be on the other side of the mic there is always ke...

Tonight I was lucky enough to attend another recording of the Radio 4 series 'The Missing Hancocks', thanks to the generosity of the splendid Kevin Eldon, who snuck me and my wife in under his metaphorical jacket once again. I've mentioned here before just how impressed I've been by the series, which manages to capture the tone of the show perfectly, with scary accuracy; even the banter between the cast as they made the odd slip-up during the recording felt much like how you'd imagine Tony, Bill and Sid would respond if they had made the same mistakes first time around. It has just the right amount of fun to it, and the combination of the excellent writing and Kevin McNally's spot-on rendition of The Lad Himself still manages to entertain a live audience despite last being performed sixty-three years ago; proof that good comedy doesn't date.  They were recording two lost Christmas episodes tonight, which were both a lot ...

I had the most glorious, inspiring night tonight, watching a recording of The Missing Hancocks at BBC Broadcasting House.  I was there, thanks to the kindness of Kevin Eldon (AKA Bill Kerr), who snuck me in under his metaphorical jacket. I sent him a text on a whim when I saw they were making another series and he put me and my wife on the guest list. I'm so grateful that he did, as I'm a huge Hancock fan - and often lament to myself that I'd never get the chance to experience the real thing, thanks to being born twenty-four years too late; Damn my parents and their reluctance to procreate.  I can't state enough just how good tonight was. It was inspiring to see such a great cast get their mitts on a fantastic pair of scripts and nail them so perfectly. If it weren't for the half century that's passed, you could be fooled into thinking every member of the original ensemble was performing there before you, though their faces may have changed. It's testament...

Tonight’s Mostly Comedy was great. Like last month, we were in the lovely position of being sold out. This definitely contributed to the atmosphere. There’s something immensely satisfying about standing backstage, listening to the sound of a hundred and one people packed into a tight room, laughing uncontrollably; it’s not so good with a hundred in, but that extra one makes all the difference (particularly if it's Kriss Akabusi). (Glyn and I get the odd laugh too, it’s just harder to get the audience to do it in unison.) Tonight’s saw the club’s seventh anniversary, and my, how time has flown. It seems like only yesterday that we moved to The Market Theatre, when in reality we’ve been there for three years. While Mostly is still relatively young as an event, it’s incredible to see how much it’s grown in such a short space of time. We started it on a whim, as a vehicle to write more material together, not knowing what kind of beast we’d unleash on the North Hertfordsh...

Yesterday, I listened to the second episode in BBC Radio 4’s current series ‘The Missing Hancocks’, and loved it. I make no secret of the fact that I’m a huge fan of both Galton & Simpson and Tony Hancock. It’s something I’ve discussed here before . Together, they were responsible for some of my favourite comedy of all time. Watching or listening to an episode of Hancock’s Half Hour is a fail-safe for putting me in a good mood. So much so that I’ve started listening to an episode every morning in the bath, to start the day with a positive kick. (Picture it.) When I heard tell of a handful of lost episodes being rerecorded by different actors, I was concerned. How could they make this work? I knew the writing would stand up on its own two feet – Galton & Simpson’s material is faultless – but how could you have a Hancock’s Half Hour without the real Huh…Huh…Huh…Hancock? Not to mention Sid, Bill, Kenneth, Andr é e, Moira, Miss Pugh and the rest. I needn’t have wor...

I really enjoyed tonight’s Mostly Comedy. Me, at April's Hitchin Mostly. Photo by Gemma Poole . We had Kevin Eldon on the bill for the first time, which we were both very excited about. His CV is exceptional; it’s harder to think of the programmes he hasn’t been in than the ones that he has . I’d hazard a guess that wasn’t in Bergerac, but wouldn’t want to be quoted on it. Kevin Eldon. Photo by Gemma Poole . I’ve been a fan of Kevin since his Fist of Fun days. He’s someone I always noticed and enjoyed. Tonight was no different; his performance was rammed with energy, confidence and commitment. He was also lovely; we had a nice chat with him for our podcast before kick-off. It was a lovely line-up all round. The gig was closed excellently by Bec Hill. We first met Bec back in 2008, when she manned – or womaned? - the front door of the Gilded Balloon during our first Edinburgh Festival. She’d enthusiastically...