Today was dominated by two very enjoyable gigs. One was an unusually timed afternoon benefit gig for
Resonance FM. This was organised and hosted by Stewart Lee and very well attended given its 2pm kick off time. I watched the first third from the balcony at the Arts Theatre, chortling away at the work of Mr Lee, who I have not seen doing stand up for a while. This isn't through any acrimony on either side, but because I am aware that people are keen to compare us (without really taking into account that we worked together for so long, so are bound to have influenced each other) and so it makes sense to try to develop our acts without further influence from one another. But it is great to occasionally catch what he is doing, because he really is a master of the form and might even be as high as the 39th greatest comedian of all time.
He doesn't really see much of my stuff either - mainly because he thinks I am shit - but when I was on stage it was very gratifying to hear him chuckling away in the wings at the bits he hadn't heard before. When you have worked with someone day in, day out for over a decade it is sometimes easier to remember the inevitable fights and arguments that you went through, but that disembodied giggling to my left reminded me of all the fun we had together. At it's worst writing together meant arguing for four hours over whether "a" or "the" would be funnier in a particular sentence (and the arguments were usually over tiny issues, because comedically we were in tune with each other), but at best we would spend an afternoon rolling on the floor with laughter with tears rolling down out cheeks as we rolled. The day we came up with the "Aaaah" "Not Aaaah" idea was a particular favourite, an infectious hysteria developing as we embellished on the idea that had been a small part of the "Jesus Came Knocking" sketch that Stew had written.
Even though the audience were enjoying my stuff, I was playing it for an audience of one who was skulking behind a curtain. Not for the first time in my life.
With nearly ten years gone by and even though we have both moved on, I think we are beginning to appreciate what we had and I hope we're both proud of the work we did together. Apart from a brief mention on the Comedy Map of Britain (apparently) it is a double act that has been Stalinesquely wiped from the records, though it is gratifying to know that amongst a certain band of die hard comedy fans and nerds we are still held in high esteem.
I am glad that we are still ploughing on though, heftier and with greyer hair and less youthful energy, but hopefully still delivering the goods and still being appreciated by the only people who really matter - 200 nerds.
Then after a 45 minute up hill run at the gym (which more than compensated for the mini eggs I impulsively ate this afternoon and the beer and digestive biscuits I would have later. I am back on the diet track and love this system of paying for misdemeanours in sweat) I was over at the Lyric for the final comedy night in this season. We were on the set of the Birthday Party, which was fun as it meant I was presenting the show from a 1950s lounge and my guests came up a small path and through the front door, like it was some kind of low budget Noel's House Party. I tried out my new diary based material, which went very well and there were brilliant sets from Tony Law, Justin Edwards, Jack Whitehall (19 years old and yet preternaturally confident and assured and funny - it made me sick) and the incomparable Russell Howard, who still managed to be a highlight despite the incredible quality of the bill. There is something incredibly special about these nights and I really hope they can become a regular fixture. There are more gigs in the autumn, which will include Robert Newman, Dan Antopolski, Ivan Brackenbury and Wilson Dixon. Stewart Lee is trying out material for his new TV show at all of them and on November 16th there is going to be a fun night where the cast of TMWRNJ get back together to give you a taste of what they're up to now, with a very short headline set from the defunct double act Lee and Herring. I will let you know when tickets go on sale, but be primed and ready because if Tedstock is anything to go by it should sell out pretty quickly.
In the mean time there is a big benefit night coming up in the theatre on June 15th, which I am hosting and which will include the ubiquitous Stewart Lee, award winning monkey fiddler Nina Conti, Mitch Benn, Shazia Mirza, Matthew Crosby and many more.
Click here for details.
