4130/17049
My slightly punishing schedule continued and is made worse by the fact that I am my own boss and I have put this schedule together myself. And I am not paying myself anything for my work. I am a prick both as a boss and an employee.
I wrote so last minute gags, worked out an order for my ragbag of material and put together the slideshow and then it was time to go the the theatre. I felt a little unprepared, though knew I definitely had more than enough material, but as we had to rehearse the Hamlet bit and a few other extras I didn't actually get time to run through everything before the show proper. We got some good stuff done though, including an interview with animator Chay Hawes who has done such a fantastic job on the opening titles and the sketches.
We went out to get dinner and had to brave the drunken crowds of people celebrating St Patrick's Weekend (apparently if it falls on a Monday then it becomes a four day festival). It looked quite messy even at 6.30pm so goodness knows what it would be like later (though as I came home I saw someone had impressively spewed at the top of our road, sadly the sick was not green).
Even though I forgot about some of the slides and made a few errors the 70 minute first half whizzed along quite nicely. I had put a lot of energy into it and tiredness started creeping up on me during the interval, which made it slightly tricky for me to concentrate during my second half interview with biochemist Professor Nick Lane. He had some fascinating stuff about the origins of life and why death is an evolutionary necessity and the importance of mitochondria. What I like about this show is the way it mixes cock jokes with fairly in depth and up to date scientific thinking that makes your brain hurt. It made for a great couple of hours of entertainment for the audience in return for just £10. Audience numbers were a little down on the first three shows (though still well over half full, which is more than good enough), but please support us for the last two shows if you can. Book your tickets here
I can't quite believe that we're two thirds of the way through this series already, though painfully aware that I have a lot of work to do for the last two and not much time to do it in. I think I have plumped for "Good and Evil" and "The Shape of Things To Come" as the last two subjects.
I think it's working out well. We are very much learning and adapting as we go along, but I am very proud of the work and the team that are helping me get this together. I absolutely could not do any of this without them and with the dedication of their seaweed eating king Chris Evans (not that one). And we can't do any more without a tiny bit of support from you. I can't work out if we're doing something amazing or something deluded, but it feels like an end in itself and it will be an achievement just to have made six episodes. And the first four, whilst not being easy, have not destroyed us and so that's something.
Though I feel a little trepidatious about the rest of this week, which includes podcasts with Harry Shearer and Susan Calman tomorrow and two Fubar radio shows (we have to get next week's in the can as Lou is away). That's an awful lot of talking, plus gigs in Aldershot (SOLD OUT), Hitchin (SOLD OUT), Didcot (SOLD OUT), Hull and Cardiff! Leeds is sold out next week, so Hull is the last chance for people in Yorkshire to get tickets.
It is really a little paralysing if I think too far ahead and taking everything a day at a time has got me this far with relatively little stress. But I am looking forward to September.
