mostly david ephgrave

Today proved how much better my show works with a bigger audience, something that's probably not that surprising, though it was lovely to have it confirmed. I didn't have that many in - probably about twelve, though a few more were shown through about ten minutes before the end when it was far too late to do a recap so God knows what they thought I was on about - though the impact on the atmosphere was huge. Suddenly, there were laughs to ride and the chance to have fun with the material, and I felt like a standup again too, which was a bonus. That's one of the positives to doing a lot of shows to small audiences on the Fringe: by the time you're back in front of a more substantial crowd, you quickly see the benefit of all those gigs when you had to work for a reaction. This was the case when we filmed my last show, 'David Ephgrave: My Part in His Downfall', a month after the 2018 Fringe. Putting it in front of a packed crowd felt like a treat, and the fact I wa...

Today’s show was a world of difference to yesterday’s, with a lovely reaction from beginning to end, which was very heartening. This was helped in no small way by the presence of fellow Hitchin-ites Adam and Charlotte Astill in the audience, along with a group of their friends who, for whatever reason, were suitably relaxed to just enjoy the show for what it is, without questioning the audience size or the subject matter. It was also assisted by everyone sitting towards the front in one bank, rather than being spread disparately around the room to accentuate the low numbers. Once again, I find myself considering the psychology of comedy and why things sometimes work so perfectly to fall flat the next day. There have been times, for example, when my little playlet at the top of the show where I act out what it's like waiting to be seen at Stevenage’s Mental Health Unit grabs people from the beginning and they laugh all the way through - like today - and yet occasionally, the r...

Today’s show was a strange one in that it started well, but then halfway through I seemed to lose them. I’m not  sure what happened, but for the first thirty minutes or so the laughs were big and pretty constant, so much so, it took me by surprise. The moment the audience truly got on board was when I did the bit about the arrogant statue in my local Oxfam, which was going so well that one woman was laughing uncontrollably, but somewhere towards the middle of my set, these laughs began to drop off, and while there were still bits that got a good response through to the end, it was definitely more muted; I can only assume I blacked out for a few minutes and inadvertently said something racist. One thing’s for certain: I’m relieved to be nearly done. That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed myself - it's been great - but it definitely reaches a point when you need to wind things up and head for home, as the stamina required to bring a show to the Frin...

Today’s show was a nice one with a friendly audience, which was just what the doctor ordered at this late stage in the game, although a guy walked out a few minutes in, and while the motive for his exit could be for a whole host of reasons, I find it a strange thing to do when the venue is small enough for everyone in the room to be aware of it. Thankfully, this has only happened to me one other time this year ( and the circumstances ended up being a gift ) and it’s something that tends to occur more often when you’re performing on the Free Fringe, when the lack of a financial transaction often goes hand in hand with less commitment, but I still think it’s a faux pas. The first thing to enter everyone’s head - be they the performer or the audience - is that the person isn’t enjoying it, and if it isn’t addressed by the act on stage (providing it’s not a play of course) it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth and is disruptive for everyone. I’ve never walked out of a show in ...

It’s so hard to get any interest in my previews at the moment. It doesn’t help that they’re all organised by me, so the onus is always on me to drum up an audience. If I had the luxury of previewing on other people’s nights this wouldn’t be solely my job. This is what we offer acts who come to Hitchin Mostly Comedy and we always deliver, but sadly no-one returns the favour; I know this is largely because most other acts probably see me more as a promoter, but it’s hard to not take it personally, much as it’s hard to not let the uphill slog to coax people to come and see you get you down. There will be plenty of other acts who are in the same boat to be fair, as the scene is saturated with previews at this time of year. The fact Mostly Comedy does consistently so well is an anomaly. It’s hard to get much comfort from this however, when you need these gigs to go ahead so you can pull your show together in the first place. That said, it’ll be...

Tonight’s Leicester Square Theatre show was pleasingly busy compared to the last date, yet somehow, it didn’t quite settle into the rhythm I wanted. It’s funny how different a room and a gig can be, dependent on how comfortable the audience is with the situation they’re faced with. You can have approximately the same number of people in from one day to the next, and yet that same amount can feel either exposed or relaxed, as according to how 'busy' they perceive the room to be. Tonight, it seemed they thought they were in a small audience - in little pockets here and there around the room - and didn’t feel relaxed enough to laugh, yet last time, a room of less people seemed more at ease. On the whole though, it wasn’t bad; I’m being hugely self-critical. There were a few people in tonight who hadn’t seen me do solo stand-up before that I wanted to see me in the best possible light. As it was, it sort of wavered in and out; it never quite hi...

Two shows have gone by since my last post (I didn’t write a blog yesterday, so there’ll be two winging the internet’s way today), which both felt markedly different. Saturday’s show had sixteen people in, which made the room feel pretty busy; it’s more than enough to work up a good show with. They were lovely; especially a rather stocky-looking guy at the front, who I for some reason assumed would hate me, though his reaction suggested I couldn’t have been more wrong; proof you should never judge a book by its cover, or a punter by his alpha-masculinity. Even though I was only a few days in, Saturday felt like a turning point. The show's starting to feel more cohesive and I’m starting to get a sense of the space. Just Out the Box at Just the Tonic is a great room for stand-up comedy of the sort that I stand up and ‘comede’; it’s lovely and intimate, without being intimidating for the performer or the audience. Be it by luck or judgement, the ve...

Tonight's preview at the Broadway Studio and Gallery was the best that I could wish for, giving me the bit of oomph I need to send me on to Edinburgh.  For the first time, the show started to make sense as a whole, and I got an idea of how to pitch it. You'd think I'd know this already, being that I wrote it, but it's surprising how that isn't the case. A lot of the show started life in this blog, which is obviously a different format to a performance, and there are certain aspects in the putting together of a stand-up show that can only be realised and finalised in front of an audience. Tonight, I had the luxury of a roomful of people ( literally ; it was busy and everything) who for whatever reason were just the right group I needed to be able to walk the line between concentrating on what was written and what wasn't, and what still needs tying together and what doesn't.  The room itself was a strong one for stand-up, despite being in the early stages of...

Sometimes, doing stand-up isn't good for your mental health; when a set doesn't go well, it can serve to reinforce all the bad, yet false things you think about yourself. I find this flares up for me the most at open mic nights. (I'm feeling dramatic, so bear with me.)   I like to think of myself as a supportive audience member in these situations. I listen to the other acts, rather than shutting myself off, and above all, I smile when they're on. This isn't a contrivance; it comes through knowing what it's like to perform to a sea of blank faces. It's a small thing, but it can help to egg a performer on. I enjoy listening to people's stories, and watching them do their thing. Sadly, this often isn't reciprocated.  Tonight was a case in point. I did a five-minute spot at a well-run New Material Night and decided to take the title literally, and use it to road-test three new stories I hadn't told in pub...

One thing that particularly pleased me about last night’s Mostly Comedy, as dull as this may sound, was the slickness with which we got the audience in. This can be a challenge to orchestrate, particularly when the demand is as high as it was yesterday for Stewart Lee. The show sold out in four hours back in June - and the emails, phone calls, texts, tweets and Facebook messages asking for tickets didn’t stop from then until a few hours before curtain up. We’ve never had such a constant demand, except for last September’s show, which also featured Stewart Lee; I think I detect a pattern.  Stewart Lee at last night's Mostly Comedy (photo by Gemma Poole ). The reasons it can be difficult are (1) we’re in an adjoining space to a small-scale theatre, so usually have to wait for a show to finish next door before we open the house, leaving us a tight window to get everyone in without starting too late, and (2) we’re often sold to capacity and, be...

Eagle-eyed viewers of this Wednesday & Thursday’s editions of Pointless may have spotted the back of my head in the studio audience. If you did, I’d question both your attention span and sanity. Where's Wally? This could be the highlight of my career. If nothing else, it proves I know my place. I don’t belong on the stage. I’m more suited to sitting quietly a few yards in front of it, staying out of trouble. It’s a shame it took so long to reach this realisation; if I’d known it fifteen years ago, I could have saved my dad a fortune in drama school fees. I should have noticed the signs. While I appeared in a number of TV advertising campaigns in the past ( one in just a pair of y-fronts ), that was nearly ten years ago. These days, I’m much more likely to be found amongst the proles in the crowd than entrusted with the responsibility of addressing them. It’s like when I went to see Paul McCartney at Maida Vale Studios. ...