Edinburgh Festival - 13th August 2013

13th August 2013  Pleasance Court Yard 

13th show in the run

Length 55mins

Before Gig

I sit outside in an armchair thinking about my show. The armchair is located behind some containers that constitute the Pleasance “This” and “That”. I don’t think too much in detail about the show. I just know it should be tighter than yesterday. For once I don’t worry about caffeine consumed, food ingested, hydration levels, sugar levels, energy levels. I practice voices that I will not use on stage. I loose track of time and I only step into the backstage area about 5 seconds before the house lights go down. The audience sound chatty and energetic.

During Gig

I decide to muck about on the offstage microphone. The audience now appear ambivalent and but I get an enthusiastic applause and one whistle from a woman who seems to like me a bit too much for someone I have never met. Do I know her? I spend the first few minutes imposing various identities on her before giving up and thinking I’ve never met her. She is currently my favourite member of the audience, a position which sadly, she will struggle to maintain as the gig goes on. She will never be dislike by me but in the minutes ahead she will never again retain the lofty heights of the esteem I hold her in now. 

A mainly English audience today with one Irishman and one American. A few Scots, but barely enough to start a fight in a chip shop queue. 

My favourite audience member reacts strongly against my line about toothbrushes. She goes “Ughhh” I can see she is going to be a prude but hopefully a large over the top caricature of a prude, one that I can react against. I think earlier in the run her “ughhh” would have dented the start but I know it well enough to dodge her distain and keep it on track. I over extend my self of lottery, adding even more bits in today that ultimately detracts rather than adds to the routine. 

Certain absence of rolling laughter today. Always get the feeling I have lost the audience until I reach the punchline and they are still there.  I keep wanting to say to them. “Do you remember me from a few minutes ago? The guy you thought was funny?”

“Possessed by Demons” working better with rewrite now incorporated. More fun to be had here. I added new material about RBS which adds a Scottish angle and sets up the pay off better. 

“Just a number” not really getting laughs today but essential for the narrative and still with a dramatic quality. It is an annoying bit of material for me (difficult to get right).

Sugar stuff all well although I again said Dentist when i meant hairdresser. This happened yesterday and I need to think of them as two separate routines in my head rather than the one routine to stop this fuck up. 

“Dad Embarrassment” working well today but an erratic routine at the best of times. 

“Scrapyard” and “adults are weak” Ok but noticeable step up with “Kid” routine and this was just in the delivery. It is older bit of material and I perform it better. I’m stiller, pause better etc. 

“Feel the fear” has become a favourite of mine. A few days ago I bemoaned having to this routine. It looked ready for the chop but a rewrite and it has a new lease of life I am now enjoying this thing and having fin with this routine. 

“Tipping Point” has strong ending but setting up still feels a bit convoluted for my liking. 

“Probability” Energy starts to pick up here, and it is becoming a tight routine. There is woman in the audience who studied medicine at Aberdeen University. Audience interaction here about how my degree is better. This stupid one upmanship with an older woman pleases me and the audience no end. 

The show has been average ( and I actually mean average in the mathematical sense: adding several quantities together and dividing this total by the number of quantities, and NOT average as in a disparaging backhanded compliment “That was below average” way). 

The audience has been nice but there feels something missing from the show and I believe the audience will be going out slightly short changed. I realize I have to raise it at the end. I have to do something. I don’t know what “something” is but I don’t think the conventional ending covers it. If I stick on the conventional ending it will politely run its course I will competently (and I mean competently as in competent and not as in below average) bring the show to the end. I don’t want to competently bring this in. I have a certain feeling that I have to do something and I don’t what it is. It is more an emotion than any kind of logical thought. This perhaps gives me the incentive I need to go out on a limb at the end of “Nate Silver” and extended this section by ad-libbing and essentially hoping I hit something worthwhile. At first I don’t hit a comic theme but I carry it with emotion. It seems like I am struggling to find the words because I am struggling to find the words. I have the idea from yesterday to complain about Nate Silver not being an artist and I lead with that. But after trying a number of dead ends I find what I am looking for. I start asking what is the essence of success and why isn’t Nate Silver at the Edinburgh festival if he is “successful” I have hit the comedy seam and it builds a head of steam towards the closing section which for the first time this run truly changes gear, right at the end.

After Gig

This was not my best gig of the run but it is my favourite. The Ending tonight was the first time I really felt it was worthy of the name ending. It ended on a high and appeared to pull things together and have a definite conclusion. The difference between a “show” and a stand up routine is that in a stand up routine should end on a strong joke but it doesn’t have to structurally work. It doesn’t have to draw everything together. Perhaps this is the first “ending” I have done in my career. Maybe I was previously just getting off the stage?  

Tonight I feel I glimpse the better show that this could be and the better act I could be.  

I want to build on this from now on. The ending was far better than the show. Is a better last five minutes with an inferior preceding 50 minutes better than a better 50 minutes followed by a lackluster 5 minutes? Obviously ideally I want a barnstorming 50 followed by a high octane 5. That’s the dream.