mostly david ephgrave

Today was a long, yet eventful day. This morning’s show drew a nice crowd who were very responsive and happy to be there and entertained. I felt a little out-of-practise, thanks to yesterday’s missed day, but this was just a small background noise. It’s surprising how cancelling one show can throw your timing and make everything feel a little strange. I’m sure no-one would have been aware of this except for me. My wife was in today, and she didn’t notice anything. Today's show, like. I walked out of the door of Just Out the Box, dripping with sweat, to be accosted by the booker of Just the Tonic’s daytime mixed bill show ‘Afternoon Delight.’ “Would you be able to me a massive favour and emcee the show?” ‘Yes, I suppose I could,” I said, after a moment’s hesitation. So it was that ten minutes later, I found myself backstage in Just the Big Room, about to host the show. I was conscious of not wanting to repeat too much materi...

The first thing the MC said after I walked off the stage tonight was "Well, he tried". This made we walk straight out of the building. Saying it was unprofessional and unpleasant. Without wishing to sound like one of those people, in all the years that Glyn and I have run and MC-ed a comedy club, we've never once put an act down, however their set went. It's not an MC's job to pass comment; you pick things up and keep things moving, but that’s it. You’re never negative about what’s onstage around you; after all, they’re as much a part of the show as you. The irony was it didn't go that badly. It wasn’t my best work, but it wasn't my worst. The audience’s reaction was polite, but there were still some laughs. Even if there hadn't been, the comment was unnecessary. It was patronising while pretending to be supportive, and served to set in stone with the audience that it hadn’t gone well, regardless of what they’d been thinking in the firs...