mostly david ephgrave

After five and a half years, Glyn and I have moved to a bigger office on the same premises, which now puts us at the advantage of having room to swing a Bengal tiger. When we took on the first space, we worried if we could justify it, but despite being the size of a modest broom-cupboard (with just enough room to keep a dustpan & brush), we put it to good use; all my solo shows were written and rehearsed there, and the majority of our radio shows were recorded there too, which was a bit of a squeeze for the three of us involved.  It was also a storeroom for our Mostly Comedy gear in-between shows, which pretty much rendered it impossible to run our material there without kissing. (Like that's an excuse.) While it's sad to see it go (admittedly only across the corridor) the move is a positive step that reeks of potential. The new office is actually two rooms - one the size of our original office and another approximately six times bigger - which enables us to ke...

Today I continued the work I was doing yesterday, whittling down a jokes’ list to send to my PR before we meet on Friday, and watching the video of my extended work-in-progress set from May’s Hitchin Mostly while making detailed notes. It felt good to be working extensively all day, knowing I’d squeezed as much as I could out of the time. The most pleasing aspect of my set that night was it was surprisingly relaxed considering the circumstances, with a good percentage sitting comfortably together in a way that related to the show’s title. Watching it also reminded me there’s nothing wrong with taking your time over a story without trying to race to the next laugh - and while some of my delivery was rushed, a lot of it landed well. My only concern was a lot of the positive reaction at the gig was fed by the ad-libs that came about from moments specific to that night alone, and while this was as much a part of the performance as the prepared material...

Today, I've been working methodically through everything I needed to do to get ‘…and Ephgrave’ back on its feet for tomorrow. I feel like I’ve been pretty productive.  It’s hard to motivate yourself when you’re working on your own as your brain will throw as many avoidance strategies into the ring as possible. To combat this, I’ve been writing a daily checklist. It helps me keep an eye on the endgame and to prioritise on the essentials; in reality, my checklist reads ‘BE FUNNY’, twenty-three times. (“No TV and no beer makes Homer something, something.”) I would have liked an outside eye on a run or two this week, for constructive criticism. It’s nice to have a few last-minute pointers to focus on. At least I’ve done the show before, so it’s not alien territory. It's still work-in-progress. Either way, I’m ending today far happier with where the show’s at. I just need to get it back in front of an audience - which is good, as I’ll be doing that tomorrow. (…prov...

I had my technical rehearsal today for the weekend’s Etcetera Theatre shows, frustratingly in the midst of the twenty-four-hour tube strike. Tube strikes tend to follow Doggett & Ephgrave about. Tube strikes and major sporting events. I’ve lost count of the amount of shows we’ve put on in London on the same day as one or the other, or both; we’re the Mystic Megs of Gig Inconvenience, so don’t ask us for tips on scheduling. Today’s strike really didn’t hold me up, to be fair. I only needed to get from King’s Cross to Camden and back, which is barely any distance. The buses were as plentiful as they were boiling and packed; I arrived at the venue on time, but sweaty. It was strange teching at the Etcetera without Glyn, having done so much there together in the past. It’s our most-used venue outside of Leicester Square and Soho Theatre, and a lovely space with a good set-up. I had the technical manager on hand to assist me, which was great, but it led to a false sense o...