mostly david ephgrave

The first Mostly Comedy since losing my dad went by without a hitch, though there was a strange sense of unreality and disconnect to the whole thing. Backstage with Hal Cruttenden and Simon Brodkin. The day itself was stressful, mainly because everything I had to do before I could leave for the Town Hall seemed to take forever, and the fact it was a Glynless show at a new venue meant I wanted to be there early enough to not be backfooted by life. That said, stress and Mostly Comedy go hand in hand, so it wouldn't have been right if I wasn't wound up. It's a good job our new sound guy Billy is so on-the-ball though as, when I arrived over an hour late, he was pretty much already set up. The holdup was partly due to a conflict between a sudden burst of inspiration for some topical material about the terrible state of UK politics and a laptop that wouldn't unfreeze for long enough for me to put a slideshow together; perhaps this was a case of art mirroring life. I...

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 we...