5653/18673
I have a few days to finish off the new Emergency Questions book. I am 3/4s of the way through and I am not too concerned about this deadline, as compared to writing a sitcom this work is reasonably easy. But I want to pack the book with extra value and make it slightly more than a list of 1001 questions, so I have been listening back to old podcasts to get some fun quotes and some questions based on what we talked about in the shows. I had a very enjoyable time today watching the Richard Osman podcasts and the second David Mitchell podcast. Both men are extremely witty and I am in pretty good form on these ones too. Occasionally my sharpness and back references surprised even me, watching in the future. I am not always that good, but it’s nice to see I sometimes am.
I had also listened to the first appearance of Mitchell, in which he was very funny, but I was a bit clunky and awkward, trying to joke about our relative statuses and then digging in deeper when the jokes fell flat. I found that one quite hard going. It’s always the risk with improvisation that you’re not going to hit the ground running or misjudge the mood, but I am pleased to see that I became more comfortable with the format and my own place in the Universe in the three years between these podcasts. Don’t get me wrong, the awkwardness is an important part of the show and I think was one of the reasons for its early success, as I attempted to address the supposed (and actual) failures of my own career. But I am glad that I have largely left that behind and even more glad that that is partly because things are actually going somewhat better now, so it wouldn’t be entirely appropriate (though I think we saw a bit more of the desperate Herring during the Mackenzie Crook interview this series - he will never quite die).
It’s amazing to think how far the podcast has come in the six years I’ve been doing it (ten including the Collings and Herrin ones) and this book is a physical manifestation of that success.
I don’t often listen back to the podcasts and have forgotten most of what has gone on in the old ones, so I was pleasantly surprised to be amused.
I was working right up to show time, which was possibly a mistake, as I hadn’t got myself quite into the right head space at the start of tonight’s gig in Barnard Castle. I made some limp jokes to start with and slightly lost confidence. Not a great deal, but enough to make me believe I was fighting a mildly uphill battle. In the show I say that the audience don’t need to let me know how it went afterwards, as I can tell from their reaction on the night. But that isn’t always true. I became a bit paranoid and self-critical and felt that pockets of the crowd weren’t enjoying it. But in fact, in hindsight, I think I was wrong. Weirdly there were shades of that first Mitchell podcast in there, because comedy starts to falter if the acts confidence starts to go.
I thought some people who didn’t seem to be laughing were bound to leave in the interval, but they were there in the second half and seemed to be laughing and I think I’d just imagined their disdain earlier. My confidence had returned and I did a much more satisfactory job (from my point of view- they’d all been happy enough with the first half too).
Touring is tough and tiring and it’s hard to keep your mood regulated throughout. I was mildly irritated that our hotel was half an hour’s drive from the venue, when we’d already done a lot of driving in the last two days and there was no need to be going that far today. I have realised that if I do tour again that I have to treat myself a bit more nicely. In the past I’ve been forced to economise as much as possible, but I am doing a bit better now and also am a bit older now and I need to make the days as relaxing and pleasant as possible, and not search out hotels that will save me £20 if I am prepared to travel.
There are enough emotional hurdles to get over as it is and tonight my brain did its best to sabotage my show, but next time (if there is one) I will try to enjoy myself more off stage. The countryside we drove through was stunning and filled with history and it would have been awesome to have done some sightseeing instead of listening to Richard Osman claiming to have fucked my mum (not that that wasn’t awesome in its own way).
I’ve always had trouble letting go and enjoying the moment. I doubt anything will change. But be nice to give myself the chance.
