mostly david ephgrave

 A little over a week has passed since my last blog post, and I'm still in Edinburgh doing my thing. Monday was my first official day off, which was much-needed, though I did squeeze in an interview for my McCartney McAlphabet co-host Clary Saddler's podcast Mouth-Off and a therapy appointment too. The show itself is going well , though I'm still struggling for numbers. I don't mind performing to a small audience generally as it reminds you to connect instead of going on autopilot, though it's not a cost-effective way to do a fringe run. It also doesn't help you build a grassroots following when so few people get to see it. What's nice is people are getting on board with the subject matter. No show is a wasted opportunity, though it's the stuff around it that's frustrating. For example, yesterday, I set up my gear - no mean feat itself - to pack down moments later because just one person came. Days like this when no one has booked in by the time I...

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...

A month since my last blog about September's Hitchin Mostly Comedy , we've nearly reached the limit of what we can do to keep the club afloat, which is pretty inevitable in the current climate. A video still of Doggett & Ephgrave performing at the first Hitchin Mostly Comedy (23.10.08) The sad thing is sales for October's gig had improved considerably in the week after our first show back. It was probably the simple fact that a gig went ahead after so many cancellations since Covid hit that had reinstilled people's confidence. But seven days later, in classic sod's law style, the faeces hit the air-cooling device. The main act pulled out for a better-paid gig and, because the other comic originally scheduled to appear had sadly passed away, the complete change to our line-up put us in a situation when we'd have to at least offer refunds to ticketholders first. Doggett & Ephgrave interview Phil Cornwell (far left) at the last Hitchin Mostly Comedy (23.09....

I was sad to stumble across the news on Twitter that Lynn Ruth Miller - who up to then was the world's oldest working stand-up - passed away last week. Interviewing Lynn Ruth Miller for More Than Mostly Comedy (13.12.20) I'd only been talking to her via email in July when we rescheduled Mostly Comedy's reopening to September and moved her next appearance at the club to next month as a result. But sadly, that lineup wasn't to be. She was More Than Mostly Comedy's penultimate guest  back in December, and what an eye-opening it was. It's no wonder she made the Telegraph's obituary section at the weekend as she practically squeezed four lifetimes into one. And she was a picture of resilience, having picked herself up more times than a pin in a bowling alley. It sounds like a stock phrase, but she was truly inspirational, and the comedy world is markedly emptier and less colourful in her absence. Not to mention younger. It's not often you share a bill with so...

Like so many people right now, my future looks like a massive gaudy question mark. We've now passed a year since Mostly Comedy's last show and, while there's scope for potentially reopening in the Autumn (if Boris' plans are to be believed), it's hard to know when to commit to booking a line-up. This also depends on the venue upping their provisional capacity for the gig to go ahead. On top of this, I'm trying to sell my flat before the lease extension deadline hits in May and I have to find a lot of money to pay for it myself. So much of the past two years has been taken up with resolving the problems behind buying my mum out of my dad's house that I've had little mental space for the creativity my job depends on, plus my longstanding financial fears have been gone through the roof: I used to worry about finding a few thousand to clear my debt or fund Edinburgh...but now, I'm trying to find tens-to-hundreds of thousands while my work's at a stan...

Hearing back the interview I did for my friend Clary Saddler's podcast Mouth-Off in July last night proved how the timing of chance events can be fortuitous, as it gave me a little spark of certainty and gentle self-confidence I haven't felt for ages. powered by Sounder I know my self-perception is often skewed by my depressive mindset, after years of negative framing that makes me feel I'm not enough, either as a person or a creative entity. But listening to our conversation a good few months after recording it helped me hear my thoughts with fresh ears and gave me a renewed, if tentative, conviction in my own voice and that I may even be allowed to feel a little pride in my achievements, such as they are. (There's a fine line between having some self-belief and commissioning a giant statue of yourself to front a flotilla down the Thames though, so I'll tread lightly.) It helped that Clary went all out when it came to content, bolstering the interview with audio...

Today would have been the last performance of my Edinburgh show about my dad, Good Grief. While I'm sad that I couldn't do it this year, if there's a Fringe to go to in 2021, I'll be up there with it; I don't bow out of potential debt that easily. Joking aside, it's strange how it all turned out. Like many people, I've watched the content of my diary vacate en masse thanks to the pandemic. I went into the office for the first time in weeks on Thursday and consulting my wall planner was like enjoying a visual joke, as nearly everything I'd planned didn't happen; no Bath Comedy Festival, no Brighton Fringe, no previews, no Edinburgh, and only two Mostly Comedys since January. I might as well have not put it up and saved money on Sharpies and Blu Tack in the process (and we're talking big bucks). I know I'm not the only one that's facing uncertainty, but there's still so much up-in-the-air. We're currently discussing with Hitchin Tow...

I know I've mentioned it before, but I feel entirely zapped of creativity at the moment; circumstances are such that I'd currently struggle to define myself as a comedian, or anything else. At best, I'd put myself as a frustrated comedy promoter in that all I'm doing is keeping my club ticking over post-Edinburgh without deriving much joy from it. My enthusiasm has taken a severe dip in the wake of attempting to settle my private situation and the knock to my confidence was compounded by the loss of my dad and by pulling Edinburgh, despite the attention and encouragement I'd received in advance; I feel like I conned the people who donated to my JustGiving page, despite the fact that cancelling the run cost more than the money I raised to do it. Outside of running the club, I can keep a low profile for awhile - I'm not going up for castings and the Mostly gigs are the only performance dates in the diary - but I'd still sooner not be doing stand-up th...

Today, my wife and I took the promotional image for this year's Edinburgh show, so all that's left now is to write it. (And find a technician and flyers, and work out how to get my dog there. And organise shipping of my luggage and equipment, and raise the rest of the money. So nothing much, then.) While time's super-tight for all of the above, I do have flashes of positivity about what's ahead. After all, the show is knowingly a compilation of old material and not a new entity. That was always my intention even before losing my dad, so there's no shame in it still being the case; it's like a placeholder, a premise that conveniently fits the title, 'Niche'. So fuck it. As previously mentioned we set the shot up yesterday, to make today less stressful. After all, it's never fun to split focus between the mechanics of a photo to being its subject. Consequently, it didn't take too long to get something we were happy with, which was a blessed r...

The latest sting-in-the-tail to my current financial/emotional situation sounds horribly mercenary: My dad's death has put his assets on hold. Being the legend he was, he was putting forward much of the money for my Edinburgh Fringe run, at least initially. Now I can't access it. Crap. I had a horrible feeling this would happen and tried my best to prevent it. In recent months, I helped him free money from his investments to pay for his care as well as making gifts to a few (to stop some of his estate being lost to investment tax) and paying for his funeral in advance, all with his approval. All along, I kept saying we should transfer a set amount into a designated Edinburgh account, so if the worst happened and his illness progressed, I'd be able to make a quick yes/no decision about whether to go ahead, safe in the knowledge that the funds would be available. Inevitably, I'm now in the far more awkward position of battling to get the money out. Edinbu...

...and so Ephgrave's Fringe Promo Machine springs into action (with a cough and a splutter, and a quick emergency call to the RAC.)  See below for my answers to a few questions for potential use in a feature about the Fringe for Fest, to hopefully get some publicity for this year's EdFringe solo show, 'Niche'. Easily the most exciting part of writing this was discovering a little technological secret: in all the years I've had a Mac, I never knew I could make it read my work back to me, giving my prose a Matt Berry-like quality; suddenly, answering this Fringe Q&A got interesting. (Beneath the article you find a link to listen to my answer to the first question, with Berry intonations; I know it's essentially just Siri, but it still amused me.) David Ephgrave: Fest Q&A. Q: What are some of the past practices that the festivals have nothing to be proud about? The obvious way the Fringe continues to let itself down is by exploit...

I haven't really achieved much today, but I guess that's to be expected, considering the circumstances. Yesterday, I cancelled the last of four proposed work-in-progress dates on the Brighton Fringe, which was another run pulled to match my two shows on the Bath Fringe in April. This was a shame as they were put in the diary to help me work towards this year's Edinburgh, but in all honesty, I haven't written anything new anyway, as most of my time had been taken up with looking after my dad. I wouldn't have wanted this to be different - this was inevitably my priority, but it does leave me feeling unfunny and unprepared. There's still time to turn this around, however, particularly as I always intended to treat this year's Edinburgh as an unofficial Best Of, with the work-in-progress dates there to give me a chance to see if the muse struck, more so for the future than for now. The only potential issue is the lack of previews booked in between now and Au...

Tonight's Mostly Comedy was a good one, which was a relief for me, as Glyn wasn't there and I wasn't really in the right mood. Running a club's a multitasking exercise at the best of times, not least when you're on your own. Your attention's all over the place as you methodically make your way through the setup process, trying not to be sent off-course. Inevitably you spend the least amount of time thinking about the material you'll do and more about the get-in and setup, which is a recipe for panic, particularly when you're responsible for the whole event with no buffer from the audience.  I'd love to be able to rock up, plug in and be good to go, but instead, I'm my own lackey (unless I rope someone in to help). This is all compounded when I'm on my own, and when, in the case of yesterday, a series of things conspired to make me arrive at the venue later than planned, not to mention the fact my dad's health issues have taken over to...

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.

My whole life currently consists of me rushing about to get nothing done. Today's a good example as there's a Mostly Comedy at the end of it that I haven't had the time to prepare for, and as I attempt to do this, my attention is completely split. It probably doesn't help that I don't feel match-fit to perform tonight, as I haven't really had my comedy head on lately (not in a Frank Sidebottom sense); I've been mostly knee-deep in admin (he says melodramatically), which is hardly a suitable warm-up. Hopefully the fact Glyn's back with us tonight - he had to miss the last show due to touring - will help. The plus-(and sometimes minus)-side to Mostly Comedy is we're seldom the focus and more the glue between the acts the audience came to see. That's not to say we can get away with not performing, but Glyn's and my time together is so minimal at the moment, there's no chance of us doing anything new; if I've been working on solo mate...

Today, I finally finished compiling my 2017/18 tax records (with my wife as my unpaid assistant), which makes for depressing reading unless you're a fan of minus figures. (If so, then get ready for  this : -4922.679232) (I know: phwoar) I find myself at a crossroads over what to do next. The past four years have been primarily about performing stand-up to fringe audiences to work up my solo chops, having always performed comedy as one half of a double-act up to that point. While I've taken shows to London, Brighton, Bath, Leicester, Hitchin and Letchworth over that time, there's no doubt Edinburgh was the biggest underlying factor, with the other dates being either a warm-up for or a cool-down from three consecutive Edinburgh Fringes, with me writing another solo show in 2015 that I didn't take to Scotland, but was still put together with going there alone as my motivation. There's no denying the experience has been challenging, both creatively and financial...

I kind of feel I've reached the limit of what I can do by myself creatively without someone else to believe in me. It might just be the gloom of the New Year without the impetus of something to sink my teeth into (cliché), or it may be a genuine reflection of where I'm at, but I'm just not feeling excited about what's ahead. I've worked so hard over the past four years, with my 2018 Edinburgh show 'David Ephgrave: My Part in His Downfall' ending up something I'm very proud of, and yet I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do next. Mostly Comedy has become something of a compulsion with me checking our emails and the ticket reports far too regularly, but despite the frequency I tinker with things to do with it, I've started to resent it. To be honest, it's been a love / hate relationship for years, but as it stands I've started to dread the shows as they've become an exercise in organisation I'm bored with in an atmosphere whe...

Last night, I watched ‘Bob Monkhouse: The Last Stand’ on BBC4 (which documents his final gig at the pub theatre The Albany in London in 2003 to an audience of fellow comics) and was knocked out by how pitch-perfect his performance was; this despite being so ill, he sadly died a few months later. I’d seen clips from the gig previously and knew it was good, but seeing the majority of his set last night revealed the word “good” doesn’t do it justice; his timing and delivery was immaculate, truly immaculate,  managing to somehow be both polished and low-key in equal measure. The fact I’ve gigged at the Albany myself and could see people I knew among the crowd at the Monkhouse show only served to underline how immediate and brave that performance was; it’s a joy to watch a man still at the top of his game. It made me laugh to see him standing backstage before going on, knowing how tiny that area is. And to watch him perform to an audience that by rights should...

I suspect it’s going to be slightly harder to book at least the first half of next year’s Mostly Comedy season than usual. For one, we’ve had a lot of high profile people play the club for the first time this year, plus a handful of extra gigs with which to use acts up. Our main setback though will be the fact a large percentage of the performers I’d usually turn to are out on tour next year and therefore unlikely to take on club gigs. I suppose the best way to look at it is there are only really twelve shows that officially make up our Hitchin season, not including any extra dates we might slip in should an exciting act become available, plus those Edinburgh previews that’ll potentially make up another Mostly Comedy Festival in July at a time of year when always a lot of interest. Whatever the case, I’ll be happier when the first few line-ups are confirmed as at least then the seal is officially broken and we’re on our way; I just want the odd hug...

The other day, I watched a rough cut of the performance of my show we filmed at The Market Theatre in Hitchin last month and Glyn has done a splendid job with it; I look set to be in the uncharted territory of being both almost happy with a representation of me doing stand-up and looking forward to sharing it. I’m not saying it’s perfect - it wanders off a bit towards the end, but it did as a piece anyway - but the vast majority is a good quality reading of what I was trying to do that the audience were really on board for; I hope that by having a solid copy of my stuff to give to industry people, I may be able to end the stand-off between trying to book dates for them to come to and them being available to see it. In a way, the video is like having evidence: proof of the fact I’m not as bad a comic as my inner monologue tells me or like a handful of misunderstanding reviewers might say. I was actually quite proud of what I wound up with this year,...