mostly david ephgrave

Last night, I had what was supposed to be the penultimate preview of my new show before I jet (or 'train') off to Edinburgh, but - for a variety of reasons out of my control - ended up being the first. Me, during last night's show at Hitchin Town Hall (21.07.22) I'm pleased to report it went well, though there's still a lot of work to be done. While I'd intended on doing an hour, the distinct lack of opportunity to spread the stories I wanted to try across several dates made me decide to split the show into two halves so I could throw a few more into the mix without rushing them. It also gave me more time to regroup in the interval, which is useful when you're road-testing new material. Plus, it gave the audience a welcome break*, which was helpful, not least when the room was as hot as it was. Going through my notes, pre-show. All in all, the results were encouraging. I've found it hard working in such isolation this year, particularly on the back of al...

Today’s show was a promising way to kick off my Fringe run, with a small, yet lovely audience who were pretty vocal and certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was reassuring to hear a lot of laughter at the top, what with all my worrying that the subject matter might make people think it wasn’t comedy. It certainly added a spark of energy to proceedings, though I only felt a step ahead of myself at times, what with it still being new. When you’ve been working on a stand-up show for a while, it easy to forget there are even laughs in it, so it was nice to rediscover that there were (occasionally in places I didn't expect). One thing’s for certain: I’m going to sweat a lot this month. The mix of material and music doesn’t let up for long, though hopefully I’ll settle into it in the coming days and eventually find time to catch my breath. Today’s audience was bolstered by my flyering team who came along to get a firmer idea of what...

Yesterday's preview at the Portland Arms in Cambridge was a real joy, just like the year before it. As with last year’s gig, I shared a bill with Norman Lovett, who’s such an easygoing person to be around; while I’m less likely to overthink it at Mostly Comedy, I’m a lot more choosy about who I book when it’s just the two of us and I’m doing a preview; I don’t want to be with anyone who intimidates me or the whole “I’m not really a comedian” inner-monologue will surface. While the wealth of Norman's experience is never far from my mind when I see him, he’s such easy company I can quickly overcome it, plus he's appeared at Mostly Comedy so frequently and even took part in a rehearsed reading of a script I wrote with Glyn a few years back; all of which helps me feel comfortable when I’m about to launch into a new show. The journey to Cambridge was as sweaty and stressful as you might expect in the current heatwave, involving a missed (and presumed early) bus, a taxi no-s...

I was feeling very worried about the content of my show after a comment from a friend the other day, though watching a video of last Wednesday’s preview today reassured me I’m on the right track. The thing said that concerned me was, “It’s not comedy”, which is understandably a clanger & a half if true. The statement was more positive in reality, as it was followed by “…but it’s very engaging”, but it’s still played on my mind for most of the week; when I’ve had so little feedback, any nugget I get is over-analysed to the point of ridiculousness. What was nice on watching the video back, was the feeling that it already holds together well, which is a good sign considering the time frame and the fact Wednesday’s show was the first time I included the songs I’d been so torn about putting in in the first place. My concern was they’d sit awkwardly next to the stand-up and slow down momentum, but I didn’t feel that when I looked back at it. Even the...

Today was one of those few instances where I managed to get everything done I’d set out to do, despite a few flies in the proverbial ointment that could have slowed me down along the way. The most important thing in my itinerary was running my extended work-in-progress set for tomorrow’s Mostly Comedy and ostensibly for my two dates in Brighton on Thursday and Friday too. I’d originally intended to bulk out the set in Brighton by taking my acoustic guitar and slipping in a couple of the songs that may make it into my show for Edinburgh, but if today’s run without them was anything to go by, that shouldn’t be necessary, as the running time came in at about forty-five minutes, which is more than enough for a Free Fringe show that should run slightly longer with laughs anyway (and at least two of the standing ovations I’ve grown to expect) while also accounting for a possible late start / finish and giving a little headroom for a quick get-out. I ran ...

I found tonight’s preview at The Market Theatre a tiny bit frustrating, but to fair, most of that frustration was more to do with what was happening in my head then what was happening on stage. Me in victory stance at tonight's preview at The Market Theatre. (25.07.17) The main problem for me is was I couldn’t help bit compare it to my final preview this time last year at the Broadway Studio in Letchworth, when I could tangibly feel things falling into place; so much so I walked off-stage content with the fact the show was there; it was finished, it was done. Tonight’s show, conversely, was a personally a little hit and miss. For the most part, it felt reasonably slick and there were some good responses from the audience, but there were also moments when the reaction was a little muted and slow. Some of this was to do with the Curse of the Hitchin Festival; it’s a wonderful thing to be a part of and I’m very grateful for the cross-promoti...

Today has generally been spent recovering from the exhaustion of the past week. Without wishing to sound unduly sorry for myself, I’m shattered, thanks to the combination of two Mostly Comedys, my two Etcetera Theatre dates at the beginning of the week, the outdoor Mostly event in Letchworth yesterday and a few other bits and bobs besides. I was supposed to be previewing tonight at The Actors’ Temple with the comic Daniel Cook but we decided to pull it this afternoon as there’d been no sales, which was a relief really, as I was finding it hard to sum up the energy to consider doing it, particularly when I would have had to lumber a lot of gear into London with me, due to the venue’s limited tech set-up. One thing I did do today was draw together a list of the people who’ve played Mostly Comedy so far this year to post on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to act as a space-saver until we’re back again in the Autumn. This served to reiterate how great the line-ups have been si...

It didn’t matter that there were only two people in for tonight's show, as it was both enjoyable and useful in equal measure.   It just goes to illustrate that you can never predict these things, other than taking an educated guess at the moment. Yesterday, only two people turned up as well, and as soon as I started talking to them beforehand to see how they felt about it and whether they wanted it to go ahead, the width of their eyes made it clear that they weren’t comfortable with it; I understood completely, as there aren’t many who would be. Conversely, I could tell very quickly when I spoke to the two women who came tonight that they were more than happy to watch it and if anything, that they thought it sounded quite fun. They seemed nice and good humoured, so the me that at other times might have decided to pull it before I went out-front thought, “What the heck”. I should state for the record that they were exceptional sports. With the wrong people, havin...

The fact I had to cancel Monday's gig goes to show how much harder it is to get an audience in London than anywhere else. "Now Showing..." To be fair, that’s a little simplistic. London is saturated with previews at this time of year, with many far more well-established performers vying (yes: “vying”) for attention, so it’s always going to be difficult; it’s a process you just have to go through to pull a show together, but an expensive one at that. The preview procedure is a bit of a lottery; you start by putting as many dates as you can in the diary, striking a balance between places you’ve played before and a few you haven’t, taking into account which venues are cheapest, which have their own audience and which are best equipped. The Etcetera (where Monday and Tuesday’s dates are booked) is one of the best spaces for me, as it’s perfect for comedy, has a good profile and has a projector and a screen rigged and a proper PA, whereas somewhere lik...

I had a lovely time at tonight’s preview at the cracking Portland Arms in Cambridge, which proved just how it is to arrive at a venue that’s properly equipped with a good technician to hand and a great sound and light set-up. Me, on stage in Caombridge tonight. As is always the case, the last few minutes leading up to the show were so intense that I went into to the gig with very little time to consider what I was about to do. It’s hard to find a space to get your head together and separate your tech and show mindset. I ended up sitting behind the screen on the stage for a few minutes so I could meditate quickly and centre myself before launching into it. Thankfully, the set-up in the space was so naturally strong that it gave me something to anchor onto (if that makes any sense) and - while yet again I have very little idea of what I actually said, it flowed pretty freely and got a good response. Norman Lovett was on good form. He arrived probably half an hour ...

The nicest thing about tonight’s preview - aside from the fact it went ahead - was that some of my ex-students came to see it. I’d clocked their name on the booking list for the previous Actors’ Temple show, which we ended up having to pull, and wondered if it was them (their surname rivals mine for its unusualness) so I was particularly pleased they were able to make the rescheduled date; it’s lovely when someone goes to trouble of booking - let alone planning to travel into town specifically to see you - that you hate to be the reason it doesn't go ahead. They enjoyed the show, which was a compliment as they were always very funny themselves. They were the first to put their hand up for any improv game I set and they always made me laugh. Their class was full of talent, and the keenness they injected into proceedings made the job a lot of fun. The show was fairly good and was certainly very useful, even when putting tearful reunions to o...

Unfortunately, I've had to cancel tomorrow’s preview in Winchester with Norman Lovett as the take-up hadn’t been as much as we would have liked - and while I could have left it a little longer to see if we sold more, it made sense to call it now, to allow time to inform ticketholders and to save the hassle of getting there tomorrow to find we're just as quiet. It’s very frustrating, but ultimately can’t be helped, and it feels better to make the decision today instead of leaving it hanging, particularly as most of the day was spent going through the mechanics of cancelling it, leaving me no time to work on the show itself. All this does is echo how I’m sick of being the one doing all the organising and how I'm seldom, if ever, the one previewing my show on someone else’s night with them doing all the booking and promotion. In fact, now I think of it, in all the time I’ve worked with Glyn or on my own, we’ve never previewed a show at someone els...

Today I did my first proper run of the show as it stands since my last date in Brighton. Despite not having looked at it for a while, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed doing the first half of it. It zipped along quite nicely and felt right, which is a great place to be, but there’s a definite point about two thirds in from which I know it needs work. It’s just a case of tightening some of the later material, while also fleshing out a couple of the set-pieces. If some of them continue to feel a bit clunky, I’ll replace them with something else, but I don’t intend to do much - if any - of this before Friday’s show, as I don’t want to pressure myself unduly; there’s always time to have a fiddle with the content before my other previews this month. Part of the reason I don’t want to make too many changes now is I’ve still got to sort out the technical side to Friday’s London date, so inevitably I won’t have the time t to do much tinkering w...

I had my first casting in months this morning, which I enjoyed, despite having to get into Central London first thing. There’s something distinctly dissatisfying about buying a peak-time train ticket, only to have to stand the whole way; what you have to do for a discounted rate: a journey-long headstand? I managed to meditate for a bit whilst on my feet, but it was hardly the most relaxing way to do it; I also dropped half of my tablets on the floor when I pulled out my pillbox; as long as any passing dogs have similar health problems to me, we should be okay. The casting was the sort I prefer, as there was no dialogue, so I didn’t have to cram lines into my head when it came in yesterday with little notice. I just had to react subtly to a comedic situation ( which pretty much sums up my life). It was over in a flash and I was on the train back to Hitchin, seated this time, ready to get on with what I’d planned for the rest of the day. When I got home, I ran my set...

Tonight saw my last show in Bath, which I’m pleased to report went well, like the first one. Me, contemplating the meaning of life, pre-show. As is often the case when you have a long day with a gig at the end of it, it got to the stage where I almost hoped I wouldn’t have to do it. Signs literally seemed to point that way when I arrived at the venue to find I’d been missed off the blackboard outside; it’s disheartening when you’re booked to do a show at 6:00pm, yet the sign outside the pub suggests there’s nothing on until 11:00pm; how many people would see this and turn away? This negative feeling was compounded when the act before me overran by over ten minutes, which meant I got into the space late and had less time to deal with a sound issue that came up. Thankfully, I managed to fix this, but the stress of the truncated get-in didn’t put me in the best mindset to talk for an hour; I could have done without the agro. Ultimately, I was glad things went ahead, a...

I’m pretty much all set for my shows in Bath this weekend . I did a couple of runs today, to get the general shape of what I’m doing in my head, and it seems to zip along quite nicely. There are points I’ll definitely address in the coming months and other bits that need writing, but it will be nice to at least get some of the ideas out in the open, even in their early state, to start seeing what works. Some of the material I do this weekend may not make it to Edinburgh, but hopefully a fair amount of it should - and it’s encouraging to have the beginnings take shape. My only concern is whether the tech set-up at the venue will be as I need it. It should be, but there’s always an added element of stress when you’re unable to get into the space until half an hour before the show. The start time for tomorrow is 4:30pm and then 6:00pm on Saturday, which is a pain as it would have been more helpful the other way around, to give more of a window to drive to Bath tomorrow and an...

Today saw my second Edinburgh show and my last preview.  I actually felt far better about today's performance compared to yesterday's, which was ironic in a way, as we went up late due to a waiting for five audience members who'd rushed to the door of the venue, thinking they could buy tickets there, to be redirected to the box office only to never come back; I have that effect on would-be punters. This late start meant I had to consciously pace things up and cut the odd line here and there to finish on time, which actually made the whole thing feel more cohesive; on this basis, I'm going to start tomorrow's show next Wednesday.  Amongst today's bijou audience was the technician from Glyn's and my first Edinburgh show The Balloon Debate, with his girlfriend, who we last saw in either 2010 or 2011, when we were up here with Mostly Comedy (and possibly our Meadow Bar show Big in Small Places; it's hard to remember which, as each year rolls into one).  A...

Let off a flare; my Edinburgh Fringe run has begun.  I enjoyed my first show. Despite being dogged by technical issues right up until five minutes before curtain up - THERE ARE NO CURTAINS - the performance itself was tech glitch-free. I had a small crowd in (my use of the word 'crowd' is perhaps slightly ambitious), but they were nice, and stuck with me right through to the end, which is always a bonus.  In the audience today were my lovely flyering team, who seemed to enjoy it. It would have been awkward if they didn't, as you don't want a gang of people in your employ, telling your potential audience that they'd be best-served to give it a miss; I'll leave that job to the people promoting other comedians' shows, of which I imagine there are quite a few.  After the show, I popped to a greasy spoon with my PR Milla, for a late breakfast and a debrief. We were stuck for ideas for where to eat until I suggested The City Café, where ...

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...

Shock! Horror! Tonight's preview had an audience! It was so nice to perform to a roomful of people (stretching that definition a little) who were up for comedy and  were there to enjoy it and have a good time (something it's easy to forget along the way). Their reaction was warm and inclusive and they were more than happy to go with me on the various twists and turns of a nearly-but-not-quite-actually-yet-put-together-show.  The set-up was aided by the fact I'd been to the venue a couple of weeks ago for the cancelled 'with Phil Kay' gig. This enabled me to streamline the equipment I took, making my journey comparatively luxurious. I still got a taxi from King's Cross, as this was far easier than wrestling with the tube. Despite the simple route in and a straightforward set-up, I still got a little stressed, through doing it on my own; at which point my wife arrived (with a few of the props I couldnt manage) and helped do the last few bits and pieces, while ...