mostly david ephgrave

Today was very productive, taking in a meeting regarding Mostly Comedy potentially taking on an additional venue in another local town (well city, technically, if that doesn’t give things away) plus a rehearsal for the last outing of my show ‘Now Who’s a Comedian?’ at Leicester Comedy Festival this weekend. The meeting was promising, which was great, as we’ve always felt Mostly could work well in another town provided the town had the right catchment and the people in charge of the venue were on board with the nature of the night, and were prepared to allow time for the club to grow. We’ve dabbled with taking it elsewhere in the past (most recently with last year's date at Letchworth’s Broadway Theatre which, if anything we were concerned might be a little too close geographically to Hitchin, though it did work) but something about the nature of this particular venue and its location definitely bode well for it being a potential new home; we’re going t...

I sometimes feel like most of my life is spent staring at a computer screen, doing something I don’t want to do. I suppose that’s not an alien concept for many, particularly if you work in an office, which, to be fair, I only do in a self-employed sense. But it’s still frustrating, particularly when more time is spent on admin related to work and not on actual, useful content, such as writing new material. This afternoon’s a case in point: I kicked things off (in the dullest sense of the phrase) by editing copy for the work-in-progress dates I’m doing in Brighton in May , before spending far longer than necessary editing artwork for the last outing of ‘Now Who’s a Comedian?’ at the Leicester Comedy Festival next month . The problem with the latter job is I’m (1) not as adept at Photoshop - or Gimp, to be more accurate, as that's the software I use -  and (2) it isn’t the sort of work I even want to do; other performers have people doing this st...

Yesterday, I finished registering my work-in-progress dates at the Brighton Fringe next May and booked in a performance of ‘Now Who’s a Comedian?’ at the Etcetera Theatre toward the end of January, to plug the gap between now and my show at Leicester Comedy Festival in February , thus setting the wheels creaking into motion for 2018. It felt good to get back on my feet following last week’s unpleasant review, instead of stewing for too long on it, though I won’t deny, it hasn’t left my mind quite yet; it’s frustrating to be grappling with unnecessary self-doubt as I consider my next move, as any creative person has enough of this to contend with, without someone else sticking their head around the door to shout, “You’re SHIT”, before buggering off again. It’s just so tiresome. I’m already struggling to face the idea of working up something new to have to waste time bolstering myself from an outsider’s negative commentary; my brain ignores positive ...

Tonight’s show at Leicester Square Theatre was fun, if a little rough around the edges. Setting up, pre-show. It’s always nice to return to the venue, as it’s one I’m very familiar with, having done various shows there with Glyn and on my own in the past. Over the years they’ve made various little improvements to the space - I’m in the Lounge and not the main house, obviously - so it’s now a better room to play, but I’ve always liked it, really. It also has a projector rigged, which is half the battle won for me. One thing I’d like to dispense with, if I’m honest, is going straight from overseeing setting up to actually doing the show, with very little time in-between. This isn’t really something you can avoid when you’re only doing a couple of dates here and there, but I long for the day when I have the luxury of turning up solely thinking about the show itself, and not whether the gear will work. Thankfully, I had the splendid Stephen Morgan tech...

Sometimes, good news comes in small, yet no less valid packages; so it was for me today, when I received a breakdown of my Edinburgh settlement. Now, don’t get me wrong: the amount quoted won’t act in lieu of a pension (Ha!:“Pension”), but I'm pleased to say not only will the remaining half of my venue hire fee be covered by my ticket sales, I’ll also get nearly two hundred quid back. ‘What’s this, David?” I hear you ask. “They're paying you ?” “Yes, that’s right,” I reply to no-one in particular, “£191.07, to be precise.” Let’s not get too excited; if you tally up the cost of PR, digs, flyerers, technicians, printing, travelling and living, I’m nowhere near being in profit - but I am up on last year, which suggests if I'd had a later performance time, I may have fared even better. There’s definitely a small sense progression when I compare things to 2016; particularly now I’ve had a few months’ distance. The outlay ...

It’s strange to think I’ve only been back from Edinburgh for three weeks; it definitely seems much longer. I guess this is because I’ve had a fair amount to do, or maybe it’s just the change in work intensity - the Fringe is pretty much the definition of full-on - but whatever it is, it certainly feels like I’ve been home a fair while. It’s only the fact that tomorrow's our first Mostly Comedy back that reiterates the time-scale. Yesterday was frustrating, as I had to reschedule October’s Mostly - temporary shifting venues to our previous home The Market Theatre as a one-off - due to a diary mix-up with The Sun. There’s no need to go into the whys and wherefores as everything’s settled, but it was another of those problem-solving situations I could have done without, when I thought I’d already sorted it. While it will be nice to do a Mostly there again, the worst bit will be having to lessen the capacity for the gig considerably, knocki...

One thing I didn't share here in the midst of all the press bits and bobs I completed in the lead-up to Edinburgh was the short video interview I did for Theatre Weekly . So today, in lieu of a normal blogpost, here it is; normal service will be resumed tomorrow (with a piece on University Challenge, no doubt):

Today’s show was another fun one, which was just what I needed after arriving at the venue this morning feeling very tired and lacking in energy. It started a little awkwardly, with just three people in who were all sat on one side of the room, leading to me christening the performance early on as the Crick in the Neck Experience, before another couple snuck in a few minutes into the show and sat on the other side, thus giving my eye-line a greater sense of balance; no need to call a chiropractor just yet. Without wishing to tempt fate so early on into the game, I’m really enjoying the show at the moment; I’m happier with it than I was with last year’s at this stage and I think the content’s stronger. I’m using the projector more and I think there’s a little more variety to it, what with the songs and the like. One thing I did like was last year’s ending, which tied a lot of the material together; while this year’s ending’s simpler, it's okay t...

It was great to finally get things going today with my first show at this year’s EdFringe. The last few days saw two previews with no turnout, mostly due to the weather and the fact the festival hadn’t truly kicked off yet, but this went in my favour as it gave me a chance to run the show twice in the space, which made me feel more solid when approaching today. One thing I hadn’t quite prepared myself for was the energy required to keep it firing apace, or at least to give the show a sense of cohesion while still letting the jokes sit. I don’t help myself by starting at a lick, therefore making it hard to get my breath back; am I really that unfit? I had fifteen or so in today, which is more than enough to make the show work in the space. What was nice was there was a good range of ages, which reassured me, particularly when some of my references are quite niche. I don't think you need to know the people or things I’m discussing directly as the...

To say yesterday was exhausting would be an epic understatement. The day started with me checking out of my temporary accommodation in a youth hostel (I’m not sure the first word is still applicable to me), leaving my luggage there to go and meet one of my new flyerers for this year. The best way to describe the hostel is “functional”. It was made up a series of mini-flats in a typically many-floored Edinburgh building, with me staying in the forebodingly named Flat 13 at the top of eight (count them: eight) floors. As I walked towards the entrance, one of the people who worked at the hostel asked if I’d like a hand with my luggage, which I politely declined like a typical Brit. It was about five floors in that I knew I’d made a mistake; note to self: next time, say “Yes”. "Cosy." I arrived at City Café at midday to meet my new flyerer Cameron, who’s a nice chap and very keen. It’s so important to have people you can trust f...

I found tonight’s preview at The Market Theatre a tiny bit frustrating, but to fair, most of that frustration was more to do with what was happening in my head then what was happening on stage. Me in victory stance at tonight's preview at The Market Theatre. (25.07.17) The main problem for me is was I couldn’t help bit compare it to my final preview this time last year at the Broadway Studio in Letchworth, when I could tangibly feel things falling into place; so much so I walked off-stage content with the fact the show was there; it was finished, it was done. Tonight’s show, conversely, was a personally a little hit and miss. For the most part, it felt reasonably slick and there were some good responses from the audience, but there were also moments when the reaction was a little muted and slow. Some of this was to do with the Curse of the Hitchin Festival; it’s a wonderful thing to be a part of and I’m very grateful for the cross-promoti...

Today has generally been spent recovering from the exhaustion of the past week. Without wishing to sound unduly sorry for myself, I’m shattered, thanks to the combination of two Mostly Comedys, my two Etcetera Theatre dates at the beginning of the week, the outdoor Mostly event in Letchworth yesterday and a few other bits and bobs besides. I was supposed to be previewing tonight at The Actors’ Temple with the comic Daniel Cook but we decided to pull it this afternoon as there’d been no sales, which was a relief really, as I was finding it hard to sum up the energy to consider doing it, particularly when I would have had to lumber a lot of gear into London with me, due to the venue’s limited tech set-up. One thing I did do today was draw together a list of the people who’ve played Mostly Comedy so far this year to post on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to act as a space-saver until we’re back again in the Autumn. This served to reiterate how great the line-ups have been si...

It didn’t matter that there were only two people in for tonight's show, as it was both enjoyable and useful in equal measure.   It just goes to illustrate that you can never predict these things, other than taking an educated guess at the moment. Yesterday, only two people turned up as well, and as soon as I started talking to them beforehand to see how they felt about it and whether they wanted it to go ahead, the width of their eyes made it clear that they weren’t comfortable with it; I understood completely, as there aren’t many who would be. Conversely, I could tell very quickly when I spoke to the two women who came tonight that they were more than happy to watch it and if anything, that they thought it sounded quite fun. They seemed nice and good humoured, so the me that at other times might have decided to pull it before I went out-front thought, “What the heck”. I should state for the record that they were exceptional sports. With the wrong people, havin...

I had a lovely time at tonight’s preview at the cracking Portland Arms in Cambridge, which proved just how it is to arrive at a venue that’s properly equipped with a good technician to hand and a great sound and light set-up. Me, on stage in Caombridge tonight. As is always the case, the last few minutes leading up to the show were so intense that I went into to the gig with very little time to consider what I was about to do. It’s hard to find a space to get your head together and separate your tech and show mindset. I ended up sitting behind the screen on the stage for a few minutes so I could meditate quickly and centre myself before launching into it. Thankfully, the set-up in the space was so naturally strong that it gave me something to anchor onto (if that makes any sense) and - while yet again I have very little idea of what I actually said, it flowed pretty freely and got a good response. Norman Lovett was on good form. He arrived probably half an hour ...

Today an interview I did a few week’s ago for Broadway Baby’s On The Mic podcast became available, and I’m quite pleased with it. Even someone as hypercritical as me can sometimes hear a thing I’ve done back after a little distance has passed and accept I don’t come across like a complete dick in it. You never really know whether you’re just rambling on or sounding coherent when you do these things as they’re always over in a flash, and it’s all down to whether you hit it off with the interviewer and if they ask interesting questions; if they don’t, it can feel like pulling teeth. Thankfully this wasn’t the case in this instance. Despite all of the usual concerns, I felt it was going pretty well at the time and listening to it today it’s good to learn I was right. Even the stand-up material that’s been cut around it, despite being a couple of years old and quite different to the content of my new show sounds reasonably flattering as a whole; good j...

Today, I did a lovely live interview over the phone to promote ‘Now Who’s a Comedian?' on Fife's K107FM . While I’ve done quite a few radio interviews in the past, mostly for Buddy, there’s always a bit of nerves just before, particularly if - like today - you haven’t spoken to anyone for a few hours before going on-air. You can feel strangely neutral and personalityless, waiting at home in your slippers for the phone call. Some of the interviews I did for Buddy were ridiculous, as the show's producer expected me to do them as if I was Holly himself. A few DJs got on board with this while others thought I was a lunatic for suggesting it; one time, I remember an interviewer deciding to use this as an excuse to test my knowledge about Holly’s career by posing a list of trivia questions for which he clearly knew the answers. Thankfully I knew my stuff too, but it was irritating to find myself walking a tightrope between promoting the show ...