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The Fest is Yet to Come.


My God, it’s been an epic, yet satisfying week.

It’s Day Five of our first week-long Mostly Comedy Festival and it’s been so hectic - what with running the Festival and keeping up-to-speed with my Edinburgh prep - it's pushed me horrendously behind with my blog posts; the God of Social Media will be livid, if such a thing exists.

It’s fair to say both halves of Doggett & Ephgrave are now running on empty, though the fatigue is a sign of time well spent. The Festival's been a resounding success with three of the five nights sold out, and the other two were well-attended too. What’s particularly pleasing is how many punters have taken advantage of our special Gold & Silver Ticket deals, with a handful of people attending every gig; that, ladies and gentleman, is a festival defined - and let’s not forget last week’s gig at Hitchin Town Hall with Harry Hill and Simon Munnery too; we’ve had a stream of exceptional line-ups.

We were delighted with how the Market Theatre dates went. We were in the theatre itself (rather than the Studio where the club used to based) which, as a 60-seater, is perfect for previews. Yesterday, we moved back to the Sun for Tony Law’s first visit to the club which was a metaphorical shot-in-the-arm of energy. Hattie Hayridge was also on great form, despite having to deal with a group of extremely drunk women at the front, who became more incoherent (and therefore irritating) as the show progressed.



Me during Wednesday's preview.


Tonight’s the "big one" with perhaps the best overall line-up we’ve presented on the same night in ten years, spearheaded by Rory Bremner & Jan Ravens, with Bec Hill and Simon Brodkin also set to do their stuff. Once tonight’s done though, we’re back to square one for booking acts for the autumn; running a comedy club’s like painting the Forth Bridge. Actually, scrap that simile, as it only underlines the Fringe's proximity.
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