mostly david ephgrave

The big news is I'm taking a show to Edinburgh this year, and I'm trying to get as much of the admin sorted as swiftly as possible so I can clear time to write it. As it stands, I'm creaking toward that kicking-off point. The show will be about my dad (the one slated for 2020 until Covid hit and put paid to that), and I'm excited and apprehensive about the task ahead. There's so much I want to get across - as my pages of scribbled notes already testify - but primarily, I want to capture my dad's character so that the audience leaves the room feeling like they just met him, which is no mean feat. And I want to tackle what's it like to lose a loved one without forgetting that the show's a comedy (which, as far as challenges go, is worthy of fully spandexed Anneka Rice). What's helped so far is the groundwork I did in 2020. For example, I already had a blurb that just needed tightening up. And I've also got a lot of material about him already, which...

I found myself pondering the nature of the phrase 'work in progress' this morning. It's a statement that surfaces a lot in my job. Half of a stand-up's year revolves around previews and festival dates that lead toward Edinburgh that you mark as work in progress to alleviate expectation and prevent reviews from coming too early. Just chatting to a friend who attends a performance will usually involve the words, "It's not ready yet." But it suddenly occurred to me today that to ever remove the disclaimer is almost ludicrous as the idea that it's ever finished is a misnomer; the tweaking - like a playground bully with his victim's nipples - never ends. You can also apply the statement more broadly: life is, by its very nature, a work in progress; you're always chipping away at existence bit by bit, trying to change your ways for the positive and doing your best. And, to paraphrase Lenny Kravitz (as I often do), "It Ain't Over 'til Its...

Today, I managed to cross another work-related chore off the list by completing and ordering the artwork for my Bath Comedy Festival dates next month. Now, at least the route's a little clearer before the two shows take place. Being honest, I've had next-to-no time to write anything new yet what with my dad's situation and all, so it's likely to be a bit of a mish-mash of old tried and tested stuff, but at least it's a nice gentle warm-up into gigging solo once again. Then by the time I get to Brighton, I'm hopeful I'll have a few fresh ideas to throw into the midst. We also had the pre-sale for Tony Slattery's appearance at Mostly Comedy today, which is selling healthily, particularly when you consider it was only announced at the end of last week. I'm looking forward to having him at the club as he's someone I've always liked, and it's always nice to play host to interesting new people.

Tonight was one of my standard ‘travelling to London to set up for a show that didn't happen' affairs; an experience I seem to go through with alarming regularity. To be fair, it was almost inevitable tonight's show would be cancelled, what with it being a Monday night in the midst of the World Cup and on the first day of Wimbledon, smack-bang in the middle of a heatwave, with a late gig kick-off of 9pm; you didn’t need to be Mystic Meg (or whoever her modern-day equivalent is) to predict that. Nevertheless, I went through the motions in the hope I’d have a chance to talk through a few ideas for Edinburgh to some semblance of an audience, be they last-minute bookings (which didn't happen) or comps given out to paper the house (which I offered with no uptake). I nearly didn’t go into town anyway, as for some reason I had barely no energy as I got ready to leave, I had been feeling a little battered down by the whole process over weekend, largely due to being sick o...

Today's show got a quieter reaction to yesterday, mainly due to a rather bijou audience spreading themselves around the room in pockets instead of sitting together, which counterintuitively made them feel more self-conscious than safe that they were tucked out of the way.  Me, during tonight's show at The Quadrant. The success of live comedy in a small venue is an exercise in psychology; if the audience and comic don't feel like they're in the same boat, it just doesn’t work. You can sometimes literally feel people wanting to get onside, yet some subtle awkwardness in the air renders it impossible; it’s like watching a film you’ve endlessly praised to a friend for it to fall completely flat when you show it to them; suddenly something you love seems completely barren when seen through someone else’s eyes. While the response was muted, it still went reasonably well, despite a slightly clunky beginning; there were a few nice moments of connection here a...

While getting to Brighton today was a little stressful with a cancelled and delayed train along the way, it was worth the effort as the show was a lorra fun (sorry Cilla). My wife and I arrived at the venue less than an hour before kick-off for the usual frenetic set-up, which ended with me putting on my show clothes all sweaty and stressed. Seconds after changing my underwear a punter walked in, which led to a completely crossed-purposes conversation with me trying to explain the house wasn’t open yet that I pitched a little too aggressively. I managed to call him back for some damage limitation, which wasn’t exactly the best way to get into a show mindset. Despite the stressful lead-up, when I started the gig things thankfully clicked. It helped that the audience were onside from the off and seemed more than happy to go along with my off-the-cuff tangents. I love it when it’s like that as gives you something to bounce off of, and gives material the life it often lacks in rehear...

I never thought I’d say this but chatting to Bobby Davro is such a calming influence. Bobby Davro storming it at Hitchin Mostly Comedy (23.05.18) I shared the bill with him tonight at Mostly Comedy, marking the first time I rolled out an extended set of the material that will eventually become my new show, which I had expected to be a little difficult, what with me being such a comparatively unknown entity. While I was genuinely delighted when Bobby agreed to do the gig, I didn’t know if I’d painted myself in a corner by adding him to same bill as me, as I didn’t know if his crowd would be attuned to a younger act trying out some sketchy work-in-progress. The afternoon was inevitably stressful as I watched the time I’d set aside to run my set disappear into a vapour in favour of the endless admin that goes with setting up the club. However hard you try to take it in your stride, there comes a point where the day starts to proverbially bum you...

Today was one of those few instances where I managed to get everything done I’d set out to do, despite a few flies in the proverbial ointment that could have slowed me down along the way. The most important thing in my itinerary was running my extended work-in-progress set for tomorrow’s Mostly Comedy and ostensibly for my two dates in Brighton on Thursday and Friday too. I’d originally intended to bulk out the set in Brighton by taking my acoustic guitar and slipping in a couple of the songs that may make it into my show for Edinburgh, but if today’s run without them was anything to go by, that shouldn’t be necessary, as the running time came in at about forty-five minutes, which is more than enough for a Free Fringe show that should run slightly longer with laughs anyway (and at least two of the standing ovations I’ve grown to expect) while also accounting for a possible late start / finish and giving a little headroom for a quick get-out. I ran ...

Today I find myself in the strange position of having had a very productive day preparing for my work-in-progress dates this week, while also feeling it’s quite likely a lot of what I’ve been working on won’t actually make it into the show I take to Edinburgh. The reason for this isn’t to do with the standard of the material, but more because there are certain points I want to get across to fit the theme of my Edinburgh title ‘David Ephgrave: My Part in His Downfall’ that aren’t there at the moment, and by the time I’ve ticked them all off there weren’t be much room for what I already have. That’s not to say I won’t keep things in if they really work, but I suspect the biographical stuff I want to include will be more suited to the final concept. Bizarrely, this had left me feeling encouraged, as I’m starting to see the beginning of an outline that might work, and that by writing more specifically to a theme instead of doing my usual stringing together of blogs that already exist...

I was holed up in my office today while the Royal Wedding took place, knuckling down on material for this week’s work-in-progress dates. Despite starting the day a little panicked by it all, I managed to have quite a productive day, I managed to write a short piece that has the potential to completely alter the direction for the show as a whole, and while I certainly won’t have time to instigate this change in tact before this week’s gigs, it’s at least injected some much-needed energy into proceedings and made me feel a little better about the whole thing. As I’ve said a couple of times lately, the hardest aspect of it all is keeping motivated when I’m largely an operation of one. I’ve not been having the best time recently and could do with a confidence boost from an outside source, instead of always having to encourage myself. I have a few plans to combat this, plus I have my PR, so hopefully this will help; I’m bored of thinking about it, reall...

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 ...

Today I confirmed four work-in-progress dates at next year’s Brighton Fringe in May, thus setting in motion the whole ‘putting together a new show for 2018’ process. At the moment, I’ve no real idea what this show will contain, but the action of getting some dates in the diary is at least a bit of a catalyst. I’ve not been doing much in the way of writing over the past few months as I haven’t really been in the mood for it, but I know I need to start chipping away at new material so I can make the most of the time I still have to try things out; there’s plenty of opportunity to do this, but the sooner I get going the better. I hope I can opt for a similar process to this year, when I managed to get just the right balance between working precisely on it and keeping a light touch; this more relaxed approach made the whole thing a lot more fun than previously, as well as making for a better show (in my opinion). The other thing I did today was...

Today I sent the following email to few friends and people I know in the industry: …and the first response I received was this, from a fellow comic: Don’t you just love humanity? I actually wasn’t contacting them in their unnecessarily overstated capacity as a promoter, but as a fellow human being - and one who knows what it's like to try to pull together an audience. I didn’t break any rules and wasn’t pestering or being pushy; I’d just dropped them a line in the hope they'd show interest; they were the ones being unprofessional by being so blunt. It’s disheartening when you try to generate interest in what you do to feel like you’re shouting into silence. It’s not like I’m giving it the hard-sell. it can be difficult to keep faith in the worth of my work at the best of times, without being hit by such unpleasantness; I wouldn’t speak to anyone like that, however right I thought I might be; if my email was that ann...

Tonight saw the last of my three Brighton Fringe dates, which was the best of the bunch. The Quadrant: The Stage is Set (18.05.17) If you were to ask me what I said at any given moment, I wouldn’t be able to give you much detail, but at the very least, most of it felt right. Things started to find their rhythm, and I didn’t feel there was anything that slowed momentum down, bar two bits, one of which I don’t feel has actually been properly written yet and the other might just need a slight rethink. It was definitely the best way to draw a line under my Brighton run as, if I’d had a dodgy one tonight, it might have left me unsure as to what to do next. Yet again I’ve discovered that the thing most likely to make sense of the material is to do it in front an audience. That’s what gives the show life - and as long as I’m fairly comfortable with the structure, I can have a bit of fun with it, giving an energy that can never be there without a res...

All in all, today’s show in Brighton was a good way to start the run. I travelled down alone, case in hand (except for when I stowed it), which was fine, as it’s a journey I’ve done a lot, but it was a long time to be in my own company. In some ways this was nice - it meant I could finish my book (‘Conclave’ by Richard Harris, which was very good) and meditate for a bit - but it made for quite a culture shock, going from speaking to no-one for three hours to speaking to a room full of people. I’m already feeling the benefit of scaling down the things I carry; so far, the show is prop-less, save all the projector gubbins, which consists of a small suitcase, a music stand and my manbag (when I’m playing a room with a projector and screen rigged). As it stood, I used their projector, which worked fine, but it’s always good to know I have one with me that I can trust if the technical shit hits the metaphorical pan. I arrived at the venue tw...

One thing you'll often do when promoting a show is filling in questionnaires from journalists looking for straightforward copy for their website, newspaper or magazine. Today, I did just that, answering a few questions about my Brighton Fringe dates that start next week , for the Brighton & Hove-based paper The Argus. See below for what I said, which immediately follows what they said, as that’s how the dynamic of an interview works. Could you briefly describe you show to those who know nothing about it? It’s like a Jive Bunny-style megamix of my life, without the ‘being at a wedding in the late-1980s’ aftertaste. For three nights, I’ll be zipping through a load of new ideas, most of which started out in the blog I’ve kept up almost daily for four years; my wife’s got a salary. What was the inspiration behind your show? Can you pinpoint one particular moment or idea? It mostly stems from my obsession with small detail and ho...

I had my first casting in months this morning, which I enjoyed, despite having to get into Central London first thing. There’s something distinctly dissatisfying about buying a peak-time train ticket, only to have to stand the whole way; what you have to do for a discounted rate: a journey-long headstand? I managed to meditate for a bit whilst on my feet, but it was hardly the most relaxing way to do it; I also dropped half of my tablets on the floor when I pulled out my pillbox; as long as any passing dogs have similar health problems to me, we should be okay. The casting was the sort I prefer, as there was no dialogue, so I didn’t have to cram lines into my head when it came in yesterday with little notice. I just had to react subtly to a comedic situation ( which pretty much sums up my life). It was over in a flash and I was on the train back to Hitchin, seated this time, ready to get on with what I’d planned for the rest of the day. When I got home, I ran my set...

Tonight saw my last show in Bath, which I’m pleased to report went well, like the first one. Me, contemplating the meaning of life, pre-show. As is often the case when you have a long day with a gig at the end of it, it got to the stage where I almost hoped I wouldn’t have to do it. Signs literally seemed to point that way when I arrived at the venue to find I’d been missed off the blackboard outside; it’s disheartening when you’re booked to do a show at 6:00pm, yet the sign outside the pub suggests there’s nothing on until 11:00pm; how many people would see this and turn away? This negative feeling was compounded when the act before me overran by over ten minutes, which meant I got into the space late and had less time to deal with a sound issue that came up. Thankfully, I managed to fix this, but the stress of the truncated get-in didn’t put me in the best mindset to talk for an hour; I could have done without the agro. Ultimately, I was glad things went ahead, a...

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, ...