Skip to main content

Me, You, You and You.


Today’s show had just to two real people in, plus my new flyerer (who’s a real person too) who unfortunately had to leave before the end; something I was sure to mention at the beginning, so the two genuine punters didn’t think she was walking out.

It was once again a lovely show and the pair in were very receptive, but of course it’s frustrating to do a good one and have so few people see it. Basically, I’m falling victim to a terrible start-time, as when I arrive there’s essentially no-one about, but when I leave the venue at 13:20pm, The Caves is bustling with people going to watch the mixed bill show Afternoon Delights or some such.

I sincerely hope this picks up, as I don’t want a show I’m proud of that’s starting to settle despite a difficult genesis (like Phil Collins' stroppy band) to be seen by next-to-nobody and to just get a single and largely inaccurate write-up, like the one from The List that popped up yesterday, which bizarrely suggested I got the title of my show wrong twice mid-performance, which I can only take to mean that they thought when I paraphrased the name whilst discussing the show’s theme I'd forgotten what it was called and was making a mistake, which is absolutely ludicrous as I’m not a complete idiot.

But back to the positives; for one, the show has a more comfortable running time now and is no longer a fight to-the-finish to get everything in. I also feel like people are enjoying it. The links feel quite relaxed, and while I may occasionally undersell some of the material so it doesn’t sound overstated when performing to a small house, it’s falling well for the most part. Best of all, my wife’s up tomorrow, so I get a break from the whole Edinburgh mindset. I only hope I haven’t forgotten her name like I allegedly have with my show; you would have thought with all the preparatory work I did for the Fringe I would have learnt what it's called; it is Adventures of Hucklebury Finn, isn't it?

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...

Comedy That's Worth a Letch.

Today, I nipped to Letchworth to meet with illustrator (and one-time - two-time - comedy poet) Mushybees, to discuss an event Mostly Comedy will act as surrogate parents to as part of Letchworth’s Arts Takeover in a couple of weeks. Months ago he got into contact to see if we’d be up for co-organising a comedy stage as part of Letchworth’s weekend of arts-based attractions in July; something I’d provisionally said yes to, before things got hectic in the lead-up to Edinburgh and we didn’t take it any further. Despite not getting down to the nitty-gritty straight away, we managed to pull a line-up together in a back-and-forth of emails yesterday, leading to me getting Glyn’s blessing and us deciding we’d officially go ahead with it (whatever ‘officially’ means in this context). In reality, it’s not complicated: from 12pm until 6pm-ish on the 22 nd July, Glyn, Mushybees and I will host four Edinburgh previews from four acts (including me), before Nor...

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...