Today's Edinburgh show was my busiest to date and the best
one so far; two things that don't always go hand in hand from experience.
I’ve often found smaller fringe audiences to be the most
responsive, as there’s something special about talking to an intimate room if that
room’s on board. When there’s a bigger crowd you tell yourself it’s going to be
a good one for it to inevitably fall flat; two of the best reviews Doggett
& Ephgrave have received to date were to tiny crowds, if there’s such a
thing; a handful of punters are often more impressed if you give a sparsely populated gig
your all.
This morning’s show contradicted my theory perfectly. The audience
was absolutely lovely and with me from start to finish; for the first time I
was able to ride laughs, which was brilliant. I found I had to give it more
energy than usual, which was surprising, but it was a great atmosphere and was
a lot of fun to do - and the feedback on the door afterwards was very positive;
if I could have a few more like today’s and yesterday’s (which was also a good
one) the run would be a joy.
My only frustration now is I’ve yet to be reviewed, as I’d
hate to have my favourite show to date missed by the press.
There’s no guarantee they’d like it of course, but it’s nice to have something
to quantify my fringe run with. That said, I’m not going to allow myself to
dwell on this for too long as I told myself this wasn’t my priority for this
year’s Fringe from the offset; the reason I’m here is to get better at what I
do without stressing too much; anything else is a bonus.