One thing I
didn’t anticipate on my way to tonight’s show in Brighton was I’d be performing
to (amongst others) 27 German students.
 |
| Informal. |
Their teacher
popped his head around the door an hour before I began, to see (1) if there was anything
on, and (2) if my show would be something I thought his class would understand. This was
a hard question to answer as, while language wouldn’t necessarily be
a barrier, they might struggle with some of the content, what with my
propensity for choosing quite niche cultural references; did Noel Edmonds’
Nineties-era work make it as far as the Rhineland? Let’s hope not. My
reluctance to answer with a clear yes or no may have been cause for doubt, as
he didn’t commit to coming back.
I took a bit of a
risk tonight, by making some big changes to my set at the last minute, so I
could be true to my original intention of using the three
dates to chop and change what I do, to make the most of the chance to work
things up. This meant I spent the whole show eyeing my setlist to see what was
coming next. I only just had time to finish editing the slideshow and rewrite
my notes before the house opened, which left me pretty anxious; something which
hasn’t been helped by my labyrinthitis, which has reared its head again over the last
few days. Thankfully for me, the show after me had been cancelled, which gave me the chance to go up a little late, so I could meditate for ten minutes and
centre my head. I dipped down the stairs to the fire escape to get myself
together, to return minutes later to find the room was packed; there were
over fifty in, with the German students amongst them; all the more reason for
the changes I’d made to be a bit of a risk.
Thankfully, it went well. It was hot, so concentration was a little stretched, so I tried
to keep the energy up to maintain attention. A few minutes into the show, I asked how many
German-speaking students were in - I knew I had to make sure the rest of the
room knew why some of the audience might be silent - for a sea of hands to go
up; a sea that rapidly depleted to a puddle when I asked how many spoke
reasonable English. It must have been a tiring hour for them, but to their
credit they were very nice; particularly one woman who piped up when I got to
the bit about 3-Headed Shark Attack, to agree with just how bad a
film it was; it’s good to know that poor cinema knows no borders.
All in all, I was
pleased with the show and happy with the response to the new stuff. It still
needs finessing -and to be put in the most effective order - but the best thing
of all was that, apart from the opening and my last line, all of the old show had
gone. One thing I hadn’t realised was how many references to Hitler there
were; one of which couldn’t be avoided, as the word 'Adolf!' was in the slideshow; if nothing else, I apologised for Brexit and thanked them for making
The Beatles great; I like to do my bit for European relations.